Where the Sidewalk Ends
by KayleeThePete
Summary: What if Kelly did not die?
1. Chapter 1: Kelly

After seeing Hiatus the thought occurred to me, "What if Kelly had lived?" From there several possibilities were born and this is the one that stuck. So here we are now.

Disclaimer: Maybe is I squeeze my eyes shut really tight and wish really hard when I open them I'll own NCIS (does so; then cracks one open, looking around before opening both eyes) nope, don't own NCIS or anything therein. (sigh) I also do not own the title; I got it from the poem Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein.

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Where the Sidewalk Ends

Chapter 1: Kelly

Jenny was curled into Jethro's side with her head resting on his shoulder. He had his arms wrapped around her, one hand gently stroking her arm; the other was running through her hair. She traced patterns across his chest, thinking.

"What do you do when you are home?" she asked.

His hand stilled and he tensed; she could basically hear him thinking. They had not known each other that long and this was only their second time together, but she had found herself able to read him as easily as he could read her, which was unusual for both of them. She could tell he was trying to decide how to answer, serious or joke; how much to tell her.

He began stroking her arm again.

"I'm building a boat."

She raised her eyebrows, looking up at him. "Sail?"

He gave her a look.

Her lips twitched. "Never mind." She settled her head back in its original position. "Where are you building it?"

"In my basement."

Her head shot up to look at him again. "You're serious?"

"Yup."

"You're serious." She lowered her head again. "How are you going to get it out?"

He shrugged. "Haven't really thought about it."

She chuckled and began to trace patterns on his chest again. "Anything else?"

He was debating.

The silence continued for so long that Jenny thought he was not going to answer; she could not blame him, their relationship was very new. She was willing to wait if that was what he needed.

"I have a daughter."

She stilled at his sudden announcement before lifting her head, looking at him. "What's her name?"

"Kelly." He relaxed some. "She's 13."

She rested her chin on the back of her hand, atop his chest, watching him. "What's she like?"

"Long brown hair, blue eyes – "

Her lips twitched as she gently hit his chest. "Jethro. You know very well what I really meant."

He smirked. "Stubborn as hell and smart as a whip, with a very sharp sense of humor to go with it." He stared up at the ceiling distant in thought. "As beautiful inside as she is outside, if not more so; a gentle heart and so joyful and full of life. I don't usually do sappy, but I have to say that she is like a ray of sunshine."

Jenny could not help smiling at how his face and tone softened as he spoke of his daughter. It was certainly a side of Jethro that was rarely, if ever, seen by anyone, except perhaps his daughter. "Who is she staying with while you're away?"

"Her best friend Maddie and her family." He chuckled. "Those two have been joined at the hip for most of their lives; Maddie half lives at our house and Kelly half lives at her house."

Jenny grinned. "B.F.F.s?"

Jethro nodded. "Normally I wouldn't believe that a friendship started so young would last but in their case…"

Jenny looked up at him, resting her chin on his chest. "What does she like to do?"

He looked down at her, one of his hands tucked behind his head. "She does ballet, choir, horseback riding and she has me teaching her how to shoot and defend herself. Her favorite class is science, she has voiced an interest in becoming a ME and asks Ducky hundreds of questions."

She laughed, laying her cheek back down on his chest, "Ducky must love that."

"Oh he does," he agreed, humor tingeing his tone.

They were silent for several moments. Jenny could tell that he wanted to say something, but he was trying to decide whether or not to.

Jethro swallowed hard. "She wants to meet you."

Jenny lifted herself up to look down at him. "Do _you_ want me to meet her?"

He looked at her with that all too familiar watchful gaze, knowing what she meant by that question, before nodding. "I would."

She smiled. "I would love to meet Kelly."

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I have not found any stories yet that deal with this premise but if someone has written such a story I want them to know that I am not intentionally plagiarizing. Please let me know what you think! Praise and constructive criticism are appreciated and adored. The only use I have for flames is to satisfy my pyro tendencies.


	2. Chapter 2: Dinner

Wow! O.O I did not think I would get that many reviews! Thank you so much! :D I am going to try and update as much as possible, but I have a job that does not always have the most regular hours and of course my muse on occasion likes to take a vacation, but I will update as much and a quickly as I can! Here is the next chapter; I had a little trouble at certain points but then something would jog things loose and it finally came out. I hope that it is ok. I am trying so hard to remain true to the characters; if you think that I totally butcher any of them please let me know!

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Chapter 2: Dinner

Jenny was nervous. The assignment had been thankfully short and they were able to get home only a week after Jenny and Jethro had their conversation; he had invited her over for a casual dinner at his house the following Sunday. Now she was slowly making her way up the front walkway to the porch steps. She had been surprised and honored that he wanted her to meet his daughter, and after talking with Ducky on Friday as they left work she had felt more so.

"_Jennifer! I was hoping I would catch you before you left for the weekend."_

_Jenny smiled brightly at the older man as she entered the elevator next to him. He was the only one who called her by her full first name, and even though she was not particularly fond of people calling her that, somehow when he called her that it was just too endearing to disallow him to. "Hello, Ducky. Have any plans for the weekend?"_

_Ducky chuckled. "Unfortunately nothing all that interesting. Mother's bridge club is coming over tomorrow; so that more or less takes up that entire day with me attempting to keep them from playing strip poker."_

_Jenny laughed._

"_What about you, my dear? Anything this weekend?"_

_Jenny bit her lip before answering, "Well, Jethro invited me over to his house for dinner on Sunday to meet his daughter."_

_Ducky had been pulling his keys out of his pocket but he dropped them when he heard that and he fumbled them a few times before he was able to pick them up, all the while looking at her with great surprise. "You're meeting Kelly?"_

_Jenny nodded._

_Ducky's eyebrows seemed to be permanently stuck to his hairline. "Well, this is unusual. Jethro rarely ever has any of his significant others meet Kelly and his ex-wives did not meet her until almost six months after they were dating."_

She and Jethro had only been dating a little over a month.

She took a deep steadying breath as she reached the front door and knocked.

Footsteps approached the door and Jenny could faintly hear a voice call, "I'll get it!"

Kelly was small for her age with long brown curls that fell over her shoulders and down her back. She had blue eyes, though not the same shade as her father's; Jenny wondered if they were her mother's.

Kelly bit her lip and shifted slightly. "Hi," she said stepping back, letting Jenny in.

Jenny smiled a little nervous herself. "Kelly I take it?" She injected humor into her tone.

Kelly nodded, her left hand pulling the cuff of her right sleeve down further on her arm; the movement drew Jenny's attention to that arm and for the first time she noticed that Kelly's right hand was a prosthetic. It gave her pause but she quickly got over it; reaching out her right hand to shake. "I am very happy to meet you."

Kelly hesitantly accepted her handshake with her own right hand; she looked up from their clasped hands to Jenny; in the young girl's eyes Jenny recognized the same watchful look her father wore so often. Jenny looked a little closer at Kelly's eyes and body language and found contradictions. She seemed to be holding back, restraining herself from what Jenny had a feeling was natural exuberance; she seemed genuinely curious and eager to talk to Jenny, but there was a guarded cautiousness to her. Jenny did not know what all that meant, but she intended to find out.

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"You too," Kelly murmured in response to the older woman's greeting; she turned once her hand had been released. Ms. Shepard had impressed her with the relative ease with which she had taken in Kelly's prosthetic, accepted it and, without a word, moved on past it. "Dad's in the kitchen."

Her father's new girlfriend paced her, raising an amused eyebrow. "From what I have seen your father can't cook." There was question and humor in her voice.

Kelly's own lips quirked into a smirk that she had been told was identical to her father's. "He can't. He gets takeout. Sometimes my best friend Maddie's mom will take pity on us and bring something over." She looked over at the older woman. "Can you cook Ms. Shepard?"

She smiled. "You can just call me Jenny if you want to, and unfortunately aside from some easy basics I can't cook either."

Kelly shrugged. "More than Dad can do."

"More than I can do what?" Her dad was setting out the food when they came in.

"Cook." She said sliding into her seat at the small round kitchen table. "Jenny can cook more than you."

He rolled his eyes as he leaned over and kissed his girlfriend, taking the ice cream that she had brought. "Hi."

"Hi," she returned.

Kelly rolled her eyes. "Young person present! One who is the child of one of the adults present."

Jenny looked at her, eyebrows raised in amused surprise while her dad rolled his eyes again and turned to put the ice cream away.

"And if you guys are gonna be making gooey eyes at each other all night I'm gonna go eat in the living room 'cause I really don't need to watch."

Jenny laughed, a real genuine laugh, as she took one of the other two seats at the table. "I promise to try to refrain from 'making gooey eyes' at your father."

Kelly raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Kel…" her dad said in a low voice; she turned and looked at him. "Play nice."

"I _always_ 'play nice', Dad." She gave him an innocent look.

He just gave her a look as he took his seat at the table.

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Dinner was full of humor and stories as Kelly and Jenny attempted to get to know each other. After dinner Jethro was chased out of the kitchen; both of the women in his life saying they could handle cleanup, but he could tell that they wanted to talk. He prayed that things between them would go well.

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"So…" Jenny began, as they washed dishes, "can I ask what you think of me?"

Kelly thoughtfully pursed her lips. "Truth?"

Jenny looked the teen in the eye. "I wouldn't ask if I didn't want the truth."

Kelly watched her for several moments before answering. "I like you…I _want_ to like you. But experience makes me wary. I worry about Dad, you and/or I getting hurt." She shrugged. "As I'm sure you know, he doesn't have the best track record with women."

Jenny chuckled. "Yes, I have heard stories."

Kelly's lips twitched. "Ducky?"

"He might have mentioned something about a…nine iron I think it was."

"Seven iron actually, and I still haven't really forgiven her for that." Kelly took the dish that Jenny handed her and shoved it in the dishwasher a little harder than necessary. "I ended up having to help my dad staunch the blood while Ducky drove us to the ER."

Jenny frowned. "That must have been hard."

Kelly shrugged. "I've seen Dad looking worse," she said enigmatically.

Jenny could tell that Kelly did not really want to talk about what she meant at that moment so she decided to go back to what Kelly had said before.

"I don't want to hurt you or your dad, Kelly," she told her honestly. "And I certainly hope that I don't get hurt either."

Kelly chewed on her lip, looking down as she rubbed the dishcloth in her hands unnecessarily on the counter. "I know that I have probably not met even _half_ of the women Dad has dated since my mom died. I may not have liked most of the women he has been involved with, but I have only ever wanted him to be happy. I know that he loves me more than anything and he always puts me first. All of this is why I have never felt threatened by the women he's been with and why I have been ok with him dating and even marrying these women." She looked up at Jenny. "After all of the short-lived relationships, two failed marriages and my mom dying…I am scared to hope." She took a deep breath. "But…ever since he started dating you…" She bit her lip again. "I haven't seen him this content…this…_happy_ since Mommy died…and…I…I want so _so_ bad to hope...to believe…"

Jenny pressed her lips together, her heart squeezing at the ache in her voice; she reached out and placed her hand over Kelly's. "Kelly," she looked at the girl in the eyes, hoping get across absolute resolution in what she was about to say, "your father makes me just as happy. And I want to believe…just like you." Kelly bit her lip. "But I promise, Kelly, that even if things end between your dad and I, that I will do everything I can to try to make it as amicable as possible, and to spare you and Jethro as much pain as I can."

She saw in Kelly's eyes the faintest of glimmers of real hope taking root. "Ok," Kelly quietly said.

As they went back to washing the dishes Jenny prayed that she would be able to keep her promise…

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So, here we are… Jenny and Kelly have met for the first time. And yes, I did give Kelly a prosthetic… How that came to be I am not really sure…but it was something that was there from the moment I first started coming up with this story. After all this time that I have spent imagining and writing this story it has become so very much a part of her in my mind; I cannot really imagine her without it… Anywho. Please let me know what you think!


	3. Chapter 3: Thanksgiving

AN: Thank you so much for the reviews! They help keep me motivated to write. I am having a great time writing this; it's fun seeing what could have been and I am loving Kelly. I know that she sounded a lot more mature than 13 during her discussion with Jenny in the last chapter but I figured that after all she had been through she would be mature for her age, but she is still a 13 year old girl...

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Chapter 3: Thanksgiving

Another Sunday Evening…Two Months Later…

"Ducky, please tell me you're joking!"

The Scottish M.E. chuckled. "Sadly, my dear, I cannot."

"So let me get this straight: You pushed a French policeman off a cliff into a lake 60 feet below; making you and my dad fugitives. Jenny commandeered a boat, rescuing both of your butts; then got the charges dropped…"

"I do believe that sums it up."

She stared at him a moment; then burst out laughing. "You're all crazy!" She grinned at him.

Ducky chuckled. "Pot calling the kettle, Kelly."

"I blame the company I keep," she returned, to which he laughed again. "So," she began as she saw her father enter the kitchen followed by Jenny, "you both do realize that you owe Jenny big time, right?" I_ owe her big time_, she added to herself as she grinned at the woman who had become in many things her fellow conspirator.

"As if she doesn't remind us enough on her own…" her dad pretended to grump as he sat down in his seat. Kelly knew he really did not mind it and was actually quite proud of Jenny as her boss and mentor.

Jenny leaned over and pecked him on the cheek. "Keeps your ego down to size."

Kelly giggled as Jenny joined her in gathering the plates from the cabinets.

Even with the interruption of missions and just plain life in general in their lives, things had begun to settle into something of a pattern for them. Jenny was almost always over at their house when she and Kelly's dad were not working and were in town. Kelly would regularly sleep over at Maddie's house, which she had done before anyway but now it had the intent of letting her dad and his girlfriend have some time alone together. Another slight change in the routine was that every Sunday, when everyone was in town, they had a dinner together which included Ducky; Kelly had the last week or so started talking about inviting Maddie and her family to join them possibly. She had begun to think of it as "Family Dinner Night." She loved it. She loved having there with them the man who was a surrogate grandfather to her and the woman whom she respected, liked, admired and was coming to really care for.

Minutes later they were all sitting in their usual seats around the table and were serving themselves the take-out her dad and Jenny had grabbed on the way home.

"I have been thinking," Jenny spoke up; everyone glanced in her direction in acknowledgement as they continued eating, "Thanksgiving is next week and I was wondering whether you all had plans?"

"Other than trying to keep mother from burning down the house, no," Ducky said.

"It's just me and Dad here at the house," Kelly spoke up; her dad nodded in agreement.

"Well," Jenny began, somewhat tentatively, "if you all are interested I would like you invite you over to my house for Thanksgiving dinner. Including your mother, Ducky," she added.

"Why thank you, Jennifer!" Ducky said delighted. "But are you sure? Mother can be quite a handful."

She laughed. "I think I am actually looking forward to such a change in pace."

Kelly had looked up at her father, hopefully. Ever since her mother died Thanksgiving had always just been the two of them eating the closest thing her dad could find to a take-out version of the traditional dinner. She would really like to have something close to what could be considered a "real" Thanksgiving dinner.

Jenny looked at Kelly's dad, biting her lip nervously but there was a spark of hope in her eyes.

He had the patent watchful Gibbs look in his eyes as he looked at her for several moments before he nodded. "Yeah, we'd like that."

Kelly gave a cheer and Jenny smiled broadly.

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Thanksgiving, late afternoon…

Jenny had told them to make themselves at home and, when Kelly asked, that they were free to look around if they wanted; with that permission Kelly felt liberated to indulge her curiosity in Jenny's home. She meandered up the beautiful, ornate staircase. The interior of Jenny's house was about as different from the Gibbs residence as could be. The furniture was antique and almost museum quality, with equally prestigious art. The Gibbs household was full of worn-in, comfortable furniture with childhood artwork, A+ tests and papers on the fridge. Jenny's house had elegant, expensive, cushy carpeting that squished under Kelly's bare feet. The Gibbs house had gorgeous hardwood floors that her father had laid with his own hands and were fun to skid across in socks. The only similarity Kelly could really see in the two homes was the inherent warmth that accompanied real homes.

Kelly wandered the upstairs hallway, looking at the collection of old family photos and portraits on the walls. She stopped at the partially open door at the end of the hall; she tentatively knocked on the door.

Jenny entered the room from the bathroom. "Kelly, come on in."

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Kelly tugged on the cuff of the right sleeve of the brown sweater she was wearing; Jenny had noticed that this was a nervous habit of Kelly's. "I didn't mean to bother you." The young girl shuffled into the room.

"You're not," Jenny assured her, watching as Kelly began to look around the room, she definitely had her father's curiosity, though she did not have half of his restraint.

Kelly stopped in front of Jenny's vanity; she reached out and gently fingered the bottles that lined the surface. "You have a lot of stuff here."

Jenny bit back the laughter that wanted to erupt at the teen's way of putting things and how much she sounded like Jethro at that moment. "Well," she began as she moved to stand next to Kelly, "some of that is actually my mother's."

The girl looked up at her. "You kept some of your mom's stuff?" There was a hint of ache in Kelly's tone.

Jenny nodded, pulling out the small bench and sitting down; motioning Kelly to join her, which she did. "My mom died when I was a little younger than you; I kept bottles of her perfume, bubble bath and other things so that I would better be able to remember her. Our sense of smell is very strongly linked to memory."

Kelly bit her lip, running her fingers over the brush and comb set. "I – I kept my mommy's favorite perfume…I found a bottle in Mommy and Daddy's bathroom and I hid it in one of my drawers." She placed her hands in her lap and looked up at Jenny. "Daddy doesn't know I have it."

There was a troubled note in her voice that tugged at the older woman's heart; she gently reached out and brushed a lock of hair over Kelly's shoulder. "I know your father wouldn't mind you having it to help you remember your mother."

Kelly watched her for a moment before looking back at the items on the vanity; she picked up a compact of base powder, inspecting it curiously. "Do you wear all of this makeup all the time?"

Jenny laughed. "No, I usually only wear a little; on special occasions I might wear more, but I certainly don't wear _all_ of it ever."

Kelly nodded seriously. "Maddie's mom said that when Maddie and I are in high school she'll take us out to get makeup of our own." She scrunched up her nose as she set the powder back down. "I don't know if I like that idea or not."

Jenny continued to run her fingers through Kelly's hair, tilting her head to the side curiously. "What does your father say about all this?"

Kelly shrugged. "Dad mostly let's Mrs. Tyler handle the 'girl stuff.' I don't think he really knows what to think about it, but I'm sure that the first time I he sees me in makeup or my first formal dress he'll make his opinion loud and clear."

Jenny chuckled, nodding. "I'm sure he will." She watched Kelly continue to inspect the makeup and other items on the vanity for a few moments. "Kelly, would you like to try some makeup?" Kelly looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Just so you can see what it's like, and we'll wash it right off because you are still far too young, and far too beautiful to need it."

Kelly bit her lip looking at the objects in front of her again; Jenny could see her debating but she could also see the young girl's curiosity winning. Finally Kelly turned to her and nodded. "Ok."

Jenny grinned. "Alright." She pulled a hair tie out of a drawer. "Let's pull your hair back so that it doesn't get in the way." Kelly nodded, turning in her seat so that her back was to Jenny to make it easier to pull her hair back. Jenny ran her fingers through Kelly's hair, gathering the long, soft, unruly curls back in a pony tail. Just as she was about to pull the hair through the hair tie she noticed something on the girl's neck; she looked closer. A long white scar ran across the back of her neck, disappearing under the collar of her sweater; there were a few more just peaking out of the collar, particularly around her right shoulder. Jenny swallowed hard, trying to hold back the tears she could feel burning at the back of her eyes. She turned her attention back to pulling Kelly's hair up. "There," she said when she was finished.

Kelly patted her hair, turning back in her seat; looking at Jenny. "You're a lot better at that than Dad."

Jenny managed a smirk. "Women generally tend to be better with hair than men."

Kelly nodded, looking back at the makeup. "So, what do we use first?"

Jenny reached out, and picked up a light pink blush, deciding to forego the base. "First a little color on your cheeks." As she expertly applied and blended the makeup she began to notice other scars on Kelly's face: a semi-X-shaped one near her hairline; a faint one that cut diagonally beneath her right eyebrow; a crescent shaped one on the left side of her jaw.

What had happened to her?

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Jethro headed upstairs in search of Jenny and Kelly to let them know that dinner was ready. He had been to Jenny's house before but Kelly had not and he knew that his curious cat daughter could not resist looking around. He heard laughter coming from down the hall; from Jenny's room. He silently approached the door and stopped just in the opening, watching the pair inside.

Kelly was laughing as she took a lipstick Jenny handed her and applied it. Jenny grinned as she reached out and gently wiped off the excess from around his daughter's lips. Kelly picked through the different tubes of lipstick; then handed one to Jenny, who applied it to her own lips; showing Kelly how to properly apply it. The 13 year old then took the tissue Jenny offered her, wiped off the lipstick and then applied a different one, slowly and carefully; doing a much better job.

It was a strange mixture of emotions Jethro felt as he watched his daughter and lover together. He was happy to see them enjoying spending time together and it was definitely good to see Kelly joyfully accepting the mentorship that Jenny had begun offering, teaching her things that mothers teach daughters. At the same time it was hard. These were the things that Kelly should have had with Shannon. It often seemed like his relationship with Jenny was all conflicting emotions like in this instance.

From day one he had liked Jenny.

"_Agent Gibbs."_

_Gibbs looked up from his desk at Director Morrow's voice; he came to stand in front of Gibbs who stood up to put away a file he had just finished working on. "What can I do for you, Tom?"_

"_I'm here to introduce you to your new probationary agent."_

_With his back turned to Morrow as he put the file in the file cabinet Gibbs sighed, rolling his eyes; once he closed the drawer he turned around to face the new agent._

_He was not prepared for the bombshell of a redhead who came to stand next to Morrow. She had raised an eyebrow and was wearing a knowing smirk; he did not know it then but he would become very familiar with that look, so characteristic of Jenny._

_He made sure that his reaction was not obvious, struggling but managing to keep his expression unreadable._

"_Jethro this is Agent Jennifer Shepard; Agent Shepard this is Special Agent Gibbs, your supervisor."_

_She stepped forward, her hand extended; meeting Gibbs head on. "Nice to meet you, Agent Gibbs."_

_Gibbs stepped forward, keeping his eyes locked on hers; having him this close with his unreadable expression intimidated all but a handful of people, which included his daughter, Ducky, Morrow and his father, Jackson Gibbs, but Gibbs was not going to think about him._

_Jennifer Shepard kept her eyes on his, level, unwavering, unfazed. He felt the beginnings of real respect for her and could not help but like her for the gumption she was showing._

_He accepted her handshake. "Same, Agent Shepard."_

It did not take long for that liking to become something more. At the time he was still married but that had already been deteriorating months before he ever met Jenny, and when his wife had hit him with the golf club the week before Jenny was assigned to work with him, that had been the end of it. He had still waited until the divorce was finalized before he asked Jenny out.

He did not know when it happened but somewhere in the months since then Jethro had fallen in love with Jenny, and was falling more so all the time. He knew that all too easily he could come to love and care more for her than either of his ex-wives; possibly as much as he had loved Shannon, if he let himself. The scary thing was that he was very tempted to let himself, but at the same time he felt that in doing so he would be betraying Shannon.

He decided to stop thinking about it because if he kept doing so it was going to drive him mad and he just was not ready to think about it.

Jenny noticed him in the doorway. "Jethro."

Kelly turned, and grinned at him bright red lipstick a stark contrast to her white teeth. "Hi, Daddy!"

"You two look like you're having fun." He entered the room, moving toward them. "You've got something on your mouth," he told his daughter motioning on his own mouth.

Kelly rolled her eyes, accepting the tissue Jenny handed her to wipe the lipstick off. "Very funny, Dad."

He just smirked.

Jenny looked at him with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. "Here for something, Jethero?"

"Yep." He nodded shortly. "Dinner's ready."

"Let's go!" Kelly jumped up, running out the door. "I'm starving!"

Jenny and Jethro shared a grin. She stood up and headed toward the door, once she reached his side Jethro turned and, placing his hand at the small of her back guided her out the door.

Neither of them said anything but both felt a pure rightness in the gesture.

"Mother!" Ducky's voice shouted from downstairs. "Put the fire extinguisher away! It is _not_ a party favor!"

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And there we have it! I have to say that the whole thing with Kelly and Jenny has been in my head for a _very_ long time; it was one of the first scenes that I came up with and it is so vivid in my mind. I couldn't wait to write it and I had fun doing so. It was also interesting getting to write so much from Gibbs' perspective; I had not really planned it so, but it worked out in a way that I liked. This chapter ended up being a _lot_ longer than I had originally planned but this is how it came out. That last line for Ducky…it is something else that came totally out of the blue but when it did I just had to throw it in. :P I hope you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for reading! Please let me know what you thought; as always praise and constructive criticism and treasured, they help me write better!


	4. Chapter 4: Arguing

AN: As ever thank you everyone who reviewed! I'm glad you liked the Kelly-Jenny bonding and cuteness. This chapter took a few days to come up with the concept for; after I finished the last one I had no idea what to write then I heard in my mind Gibbs saying, "Oh, that's real mature, Jen." I started thinking about how Jenny and Gibbs argue a lot quite a bit in the series and voila! I have to make some comments though involving the episode last week: Over protective, papa bear Gibbs! I love it!!!! :D I liked how he told Bin-Gidon to tell Eli David that Ziva "is off limits", and how she told Bin-Gidon apologizing is "a sign of weakness", aligning herself with team Gibbs. When Eli David said over the phone to Vance, "He is a thief for stealing my daughter!" I just wanted to sock the guy, talking about his daughter like she was property. All in all just a kick ass episode!

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Chapter 4: Arguing

It was a Thursday night; Kelly was sitting in the living room doing her homework at the coffee table. Her dad and Jenny were due back from work with dinner at any minute, which she was glad for considering she was starving.

She heard her father's truck pull into the driveway; her head perked up and turned in the direction of the door but after a few moments her face fell. She could hear muffled arguing coming up to the door.

"Oh, that's real mature, Jen," her dad said sarcastically as he opened the door.

"And you sticking your gun in that senator's face _was_?" Jenny snipped back.

"At least that got us somewhere," he growled.

"Oh yeah! It totally got us somewhere!" Sarcasm dripped from her tone. "It got us written up!"

He spun around so that they were now standing face to face and toe to toe in the entryway. "It got us the dealer."

"There were other ways to get that without us getting our asses handed to us!" She fired back.

"Not any that were fast enough!"

Jenny took a step closer to him. "There are rules for a reason, Jethro; you can't just go around doing whatever you want! There are proper channels! If you ignore them you end up in trouble, much like we are now!"

He bent his head down closer to hers so that their noses were mere centimeters apart. "Some rules are meant to be broken." He spun around, dropping the takeout bags unceremoniously in the hallway and heading toward the basement.

"Leroy Jethro Gibbs you are _not_ leaving in the middle of an argument; get back here this instant!"

He looked back at her just before he entered the basement. "Watch me." He slammed the door behind him.

Jenny let out a frustrated noise before turning and seeing Kelly still sitting at the coffee table, looking stricken. The redhead's face creased with worry and she moved over in the girl's direction. "Kelly?"

Kelly jumped up and ran off. Jenny was stunned for a moment but quickly followed her; she stopped at Kelly's closed bedroom door; she knocked. "Kelly?"

There was no answer; she pushed the door open and went inside. Kelly was sitting on her bed with her knees drawn up to her chest, tracing the patterns on her comforter.

"Kelly, sweetie? What's wrong?" Jenny sat down on the bed close to Kelly.

The teen stopped tracing the patterns and instead just scratched at the fabric, not saying anything.

Jenny's frown deepened. "Are you ok?"

Kelly bit her lip.

Jenny was about to ask what was wrong again when Kelly blurted out, "Are you gonna breakup with Dad?"

Jenny jerked back at the question, looking at the young girl in surprise. "Kelly, why on earth would you think I was going to breakup with your dad?"

"'Cause you were arguing."

Jenny's eyes slid shut and she let out a sigh, feeling guilty. "Sweetheart, I'm sorry you had to see that, but just because we are arguing doesn't mean that your dad and I are breaking up."

"He divorced his two wives and broke up with a bunch of his girlfriends and they had been arguing."

Jenny tilted her head to the side. "Kelly, adults argue; it's normal." She bit her lip. "Particularly for two adults as stubborn as your father and I." She chuckled lightly. "You should hear us at work." Kelly looked up curiously. "Hardly a day goes by that your father and I don't disagree upon some point. And the fact that we both know exactly how to push each other's buttons makes the arguments all the more spectacular." She raised her index finger and leaned closer to Kelly. "The important thing is to make sure that if you are having an argument that you make up, because it's when you don't that odds are you're going to ruin the relationship, no matter what it is."

Kelly tilted her head. "So you and Dad are gonna make up?"

Jenny laughed lightly. "Eventually. We just both need time to cool off. Once we do we are able to talk and work things out. Understand?"

Kelly nodded.

"Good," Jenny said as she stood up. She reached her hand to Kelly to pull her up beside her. "Now, how 'bout you and I get things ready for dinner?"

"Ok," Kelly nodded.

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Jenny slowly descended the basement stairs, all the while watching her ever frustrating lover working on his boat.

"I'm not ready to talk, Jen," he said, not looking up.

"I know," she told him as she came to a stop at the bottom of the steps, one hand still resting on the handrail. "But I think that the fact that we upset your daughter overrules our need for more time."

Jethro's head snapped up. "What?"

Jenny bit her lip, tapping her finger on the handrail. "Did Kelly often hear you fight with your exes?"

He looked down, rather guiltily; she did not need any more of an answer.

She took a deep breath. "Hearing us argue upset her because in her experience when you argue with the woman you are involved with it means you're going to break up or get a divorce."

He pinched the bridge of his nose with his forefinger and thumb.

Jenny stuck her hands in the back pockets of her jeans. "I explained to her that just because we were arguing doesn't mean we're breaking up and that it is normal for adults to argue on occasion."

Jethro dropped his hand back to the hull of his boat and looked down at both of them resting there. "How did she respond?"

"She understands intellectually, I think, but it might take some time before she truly believes it."

He clenched his jaw; she could tell he was angry with himself. "I wish she hadn't seen that."

She took a deep breath, bracing herself. "I think that it was actually for the best that she did."

He looked at her like she was crazy.

She held up her hand, stopping the comment she knew was coming. "Hear me out." She moved to his side; he turned to face her. "Kelly needs to have an understanding of what real adult relationships are like, which includes the fact that arguments happen. And where else will she learn this than observing her parent's relationships?"

Finally his lips quirked into a small, amused smirk; he reached out and twisted a lock of her hair around his finger before gently tugging on it. "How'd you get so wise?"

She smirked broadly back at him. "Someone has to be the adult in the relationship," she teased gently.

He chuckled before he sobered up. "I didn't mean to get you dragged into trouble as well, Jen."

Jenny nodded. "I know." She bit her lip, silent for a moment. "But I can't say I wasn't tempted to do the same."

That had him laughing which caused her to grin. He was grinning down at her as his hand that had been tugging at the strand of her hair released it and cupped her face, his thumb stroking her cheek. "I guess one of us has to pay attention to protocol," he admitted quietly.

She leaned into his hand, bringing her own up to hold it there. "And I guess one of us has to be willing to bend – and even break – the rules to get things done sometimes."

He buried his hand in her hair as he leaned down and kissed her; she responded enthusiastically. He maneuvered them to that her back was against his boat, she moaned against his lips and pulled him closer by the waistband of his jeans. His hands wandered under her shirt, drifting up her back and along her sides.

"Dad! Jenny!"

The disengaged from the kiss, though they didn't move away from each other.

"Have you guys made up yet? 'Cause I'm hungry and dinner's getting cold!" Kelly's voice came through the doorway, though she was still out of sight.

"We'll be right up, Kel!" Jethro called.

"Hurry up…please!"

The two adults laughed lightly.

"To be continued," Jenny murmured, amusement dancing in her eyes, as she disengaged herself from the embrace and moved toward the stairs.

"I sure as hell hope so," he muttered a he placed a gentle hand at the small of her back, following her up to the kitchen and his daughter.

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So I figured that after seeing her dad go through two divorces, who knows how many break-ups and probably rarely, if ever, seeing Shannon and Gibbs argue Kelly would have issues when it comes to her dad and his significant other arguing so I decided that this would be a good way to deal with it. I hope I did ok. As ever, _please_ let me know what you think! Even if you thought the chapter was crappy, tell me what you think is wrong with it! Let me know what you like. I use your input to try to become a better writer.


	5. Chapter 5: Angels

AN: Sorry about the delay, work has been crazy busy. I like this chapter, I think…Ack! I hate it when this happens! Anywho. Those of you who wanted to see Maddie…Well, you get your wish! :D I had actually planned on her being in this chapter, though for a day or two it was possible this chapter was going to be pushed back to being chapter 6 instead, but I decided to go with my original plan. Ok, done with rambling… Here it is!

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Chapter 5: Angels

Friday nearly three weeks later…

Jenny slowly made her way up the walkway of the Gibbs residence. She had not originally intended to be here. She was so cold inside. Felt so heartsick, and actually physically ill.

Two weeks ago they had caught a case of kidnapped Marine Sergeant's daughter. Seven year old Melissa Delman had been kidnapped while at school that day; at 1800 they found her body in a nearby park. She had been raped and brutally mutilated; she had bled to death. They quickly came to find that she was one of the newest victims of a serial killer; they had ended up working with the local L.E.O.s, something she knew Jethro was not too fond of doing, but this time he barely seemed to even notice, so focused on the case was he. They caught the guy, but not before another little girl was kidnapped and murdered.

She stopped at the bottom of the porch steps, looking up at the door. Did she really have the strength to go in there right now? Before she left work that day Jethro had asked her if she was coming over that evening. She had been silent for a moment before answering slowly that she was planning on staying home…alone. He had looked her in the eyes and simply said, "Come." So here she was, still not sure she could make it up the steps and through the door.

She took a deep breath and placed her foot on the first step, then the next, and the next…finally she was standing in front of the door. A Christmas wreath of evergreens, holly berries and red ribbon hung on it; she remembered hanging it the day before they caught the case with Kelly and Jethro; it was the same day they picked out and put up the Christmas trees for both her house and theirs. They had been intending to decorate the one at their house the next day and the one at hers the following. But the case had put a halt on that.

She did not know how long she had been standing out there but finally she dragged her hand up to the doorknob. Several breaths later she turned it. After swallowing hard she pushed it open.

Warmth, light and laughter welcomed her in.

Several youthful laughs were coming from the living room; a moment later Kelly had made her way to the entranceway. When she saw Jenny she gave an excited squeal and ran over to her.

"Jenny!"

The redhead found herself catching an armful of excited, bouncy, brunette curls, and green and red fleece pajamas.

For the first time in far too long a smile creased her face. "Hey, Kelly."

Kelly moved back out of the hug, but was already taking Jenny's hand. "Come on! We were waiting for you to start the decorating!" She nearly dragged the older woman into the living room.

Sitting on the floor at the coffee table, in front of the crackling fire were two other teens, who both were watching their entrance. One was a pretty girl of 13 with long blond curls and bright blue eyes. The other was a boy around the same age with straight brown hair and rather mischievous brown eyes.

"Jenny you remember Maddie," Kelly said, motioning to the blond girl.

Jenny could not help the amused smile that spread across her face. "How could I not?"

_It was unseasonably warm for Halloween day. As Jenny had driven up the street to the Gibbs residence she had seen the children running around with water guns, water balloons, buckets of water, hoses, anything the children could get their hands on that could hold water and having basically a neighborhood-wide water war._

_She walked up the walkway, still watching the kids and smiling at their antics._

_Suddenly she was soaked._

_She looked down at her outfit, in surprise._

"_Oh, my gosh!"_

_She looked up to see a young blond girl holding a water gun almost as big as she was and looking relatively horrified, but still with some lurking amusement in her eyes._

_There was the sound uncontrollable laughter; Jenny looked to her left to see Kelly nearly falling over laughing._

_She raised her eyebrow at her lover's daughter. "Kelly," she greeted the girl wryly._

_Kelly choked back her laughter and managed to straighten up more or less, her face twitching. "Jenny," she managed relatively seriously, before she started to laugh again._

_Jenny rolled her eyes as she turned back to the blond girl in front of her who was fighting laughter herself._

"_I'm sorry about that," she managed sincerely, but the amusement still blatantly obvious on her face and in her voice._

_Jenny sighed, though feeling amused herself. "It's alright…" she turned her gaze to Kelly questioningly._

"_Maddie," Kelly supplied helpfully; she moved to stand next to the other girl. "This is my best friend, Maddie Tyler." She turned to Maddie. "Maddie this is Jenny."_

"_It's nice to meet you, Ms. Shepard," the blond said politely._

"_Just Jenny is fine, Maddie, and it's nice to meet you too. Kelly and Jethro have told me a lot about you…"_

Maddie just grinned. "It's nice to see you again, Jenny."

"Same, Maddie." She turned her attention to the young boy who she did not know.

"This is our best friend Thomas Sable. Tommy, this is, Jenny Shepard." Kelly gestured with her hands as she made introductions.

He nodded politely. "Nice to meet you, Ms. Shepard."

"Jenny," she automatically corrected. "You as well, Thomas."

He actually blushed. "Uh, only my grandmother calls me 'Thomas'; everyone else calls me Tom…'cept for these two crazies of course." He gestured to Kelly and Maddie.

"Hey," Maddie said, "just trying to keep the continuity…Maddie, Kelly, Tommy…" She shrugged, a Puckish gleam in her eyes.

He just rolled his eyes, though it was obvious he really did treasure their obvious acceptance of him.

"You know you love us," Kelly told him before turning to Jenny. "Dad's letting them sleep over so we can stay up and decorate and make Christmas cookies and watch Christmas movies."

Jenny's eyebrows shot up briefly at the thought of Jethro letting a boy sleep over with two young girls, one who was his daughter and one she knew he considered an unofficial daughter.

"Hey."

They all turned toward the kitchen entrance. Jethro was standing there; he nodded his head in the direction of the downstairs bathroom. "Dinner's ready. Better wash up."

"Yes, Daddy!"

"Ok, Gibbs!"

"Yes, Gunny!"

The three youths bolted in the direction of the bathroom.

Jethro stretched out a hand to Jenny; she moved over to him, taking it and allowing him to pull her into his embrace. She closed her eyes, burying her face in his chest; he rested his cheek on the top of her head. She breathed in his scent allowing this to deepen the peace that had begun to slowly creep into her soul.

Mock fighting drifted from the bathroom along with laughter.

They drew apart, but he retained possession of her hand as he led her into the kitchen.

"So you're letting a boy sleep over with your daughter and her best friend?" she was able to let humor bleed into her tone.

He shrugged as he took her coat and draped it on the back of her chair. "Tom's not interested in them."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Tom's gay," he elaborated bluntly.

Both of her eyebrows shot up.

"It's sort of the secret that everyone knows, at least among his family and friends," he explained. "He hasn't said it, but everyone knows."

"How do Kelly and Maddie feel about it?" she asked.

"They've been friends since the girls were eight and he was nine and they banded together as Marine kids." He stopped thoughtfully. "He's their brother and they're his sisters."

"And his parents?" she continued more cautiously.

"Gettin' used to the idea gradually."

She nodded.

The three hungry teens bounded into the kitchen, taking their places around the table.

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"Dad, I can't reach," Kelly turned to her father, holding up a strand of cranberries she was attempting to drape on the tree. "Can you finish hanging this on the higher branches?"

Jethro placed the box of decorations he had just brought into the living room on the floor.

Jenny watched as he carefully took the strand from Kelly's hands and continued the work she had begun. Jenny loved watching him with Kelly, any child really, he was great with kids, but with Kelly it was all more. He was so gentle with her all the time, and not because of her arm but simply because she was his little girl; the most precious part of his life.

"Daddy, don't pull it so tight; you need to let it drape more, it looks better," Kelly told him chidingly.

Jethro rolled his eyes and pretended to grumble.

Something that Jenny had quickly learned was that Jethro seemed to have the inability to say "no" to Kelly as long as the request was reasonable.

Jenny giggled behind her hand from her seat on the couch, which had him turning and leveling his patent "Gibbs look", to which she returned her own "look." Though she could tell he was just teasing and there was a look of relief in his eyes; this was the first time she had laughed in a long time.

"That's perfect, Dad!" Kelly grinned, nodding her head approvingly.

"Glad to know you approve," he said teasingly.

Maddie snickered as she hung a red ball; then reached into the box. She stilled momentarily before pulling out a smaller slim box, she looked at Jenny anxiously before turning to her best friend. "Hey, Kelly." The brunette turned; Maddie bit her lip before extending the box to her. "It's your mom's angels."

There was silence for several moments before Kelly took the box and opened it. Inside were twelve glass angels, so delicate and each unique. Kelly looked up at Jenny. "These have been in my mom's family for a long time; 12 angels for the Twelve Days of Christmas," she explained. She came to sit next to the older woman on the couch, and began pointing out each angel for each day.

Jenny could feel the tension that Kelly was attempting to ease; she was not entirely sure how she should react or deal with this situation. She took a deep breath and just listened to Kelly's narrative.

When she finished Kelly looked up at her. "Do you want to put one up?"

There was a shocked silence before Jenny finally nodded. "Which one?"

"Well," she picked up the fourth angel, "Four Calling Birds is my favorite, Maddie's is Nine Ladies Dancing, Tom likes Eleven Pipers Piping, Ducky hangs the Three French Hens, Dad always puts up A Partridge in a Pear Tree…and Mom's was Seven Swans A-Swimming; I hang it."

Jenny bit her lip. "Well…" she began. "I always did like the line about the Twelve Drummers Drumming."

Kelly grinned brilliantly handing the older woman the last angel before handing out the others and taking the fourth and seventh ones. They all hung "their" angel on the tree before the teens went back for the other five – leaving the third for Ducky to hang on Sunday when he came for dinner – and hung them as well.

The cheerful, light mood from earlier returned quickly. Jenny had not been able to look at Jethro during the whole instance with the angels but several minutes later when the atmosphere had relaxed once more she glanced over at him; he was smirking at a story Maddie was telling about a prank the trio had pulled at school. He felt her gaze; his eyes turned and locked on hers. She felt like her heart had stopped for the moments that they held each others gaze; then his lips quirked slightly and she smiled in return.

They both turned when a couple experimental notes drifted in the air. Tom was testing out his fingering on his flute; after a few more testing notes he settled himself more into his seat on the couch. A haunting beautiful version of Silent Night wove around the gathering. Kelly's sweet alto sang the melody while Maddie's soft soprano harmonized.

Jenny was so absorbed in the music that she had not realized that Jethro had moved until he was sitting down beside her, his arm about her shoulders; she started slightly before settling into his embrace.

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Maddie and Kelly never made it to Kelly's room and Tom never made it to the guest room. Maddie and Kelly were sleeping on the couch, each one's head resting on one end; Tom had ended up passed out on the love seat, one of his feet hanging over the side.

Jenny spread out blankets over each of the children; lifting Tom's foot back onto the couch. Jethro had brought all of the plates and glasses into the kitchen; she turned to join him but he was standing in the doorway, watching her. As he had done earlier he reached out a hand and as she had done before she accepted his embrace; burrowing into the security of it.

"Thank you," she said softly. She lifted her head and looked up at him. "For tonight and every night."

He leaned down and kissed her; not their usual wildly passionate ones or quick pecks in greeting or passing, but gently, leisurely and with deep, underlying emotion. She closed her eyes, nearly drowning in the sensation but at the same time allowing the wonder of the evening to finally truly ease her soul.

He pulled away just enough to press a kiss to her forehead and murmur, "Merry Christmas, Jen."

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Tom is someone who has very much dragged his heels on being known and seems to be really forming as I write (like I had no clue he played the flute until I was typing that part.) He _is_ my own creation so please ask permission before borrowing him. The angel decorations, I don't know if there is such a thing; I have never seen anything like it, but I didn't mean to steal anything if there is. Anywho, what do you think? I don't know that I am entirely satisfied but I hope that it is good none the less!


	6. Chapter 6: Braids

Sorry about the delay, work has been work; my surfboard was broken but it got fixed in time for the surf to pick up finally, so I have been surfing a bit, and my car decided to break but that also got fixed after a few days and a few hundred dollars later…then to make things more fun I wasn't sure what I was going to write about. I had a vague idea but…well, anywho. Thank you for all of the reviews! As always the encouragement keeps me writing and working.

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Chapter 6: Braids

Jenny was writing up a report on the team's latest case involving a petty officer whose wife had reported missing but they ended up finding tied up in a hotel with his girlfriend…she was rather glad that the case had come _after_ Christmas rather than before since that would have just made a rotten situation even worse. However it had taken all of her resolve not to laugh when they had found him tied to the bed with red ribbon and in a Santa Claus beard and hat.

It was just two days until the new year; she was thankful that she had Noemi because otherwise she did not know how she would have the food ready. She and Jethro had decided to have Christmas and his and Kelly's home and New Year's Eve at hers. It had been the happiest Christmas she had had since her father's death four years before.

She shook her head to rid herself of where that particular train of thought would lead her and attempted to just remember the wonderful memories of just four days before.

"Jenny!"

The redhead looked up at the familiar voice calling her name and could not help grinning at the form that darted around her desk to bounce up beside her. "Kelly, do you need something?" The young girl had been spending an inordinate amount of time at NCIS due to her school's holiday break, and Maddie and Tom's families being out of town.

Kelly nodded. "I have riding class this afternoon and I was wondering if you could French braid my hair for me?"

Jenny set down her pen. "Of course."

The teen gave her a brilliant smile. "Thank you so much!" She jogged over to Stan's empty desk and pulled his chair over so that she was sitting in front of Jenny behind her desk. "Normally Maddie's mom would do it for me, but," she shrugged, "ya know." She handed Jenny a comb and brush.

"Mmm," Jenny acknowledged as she gathered the long brown locks in her hands. "Do you want one braid or two?"

Kelly bit her lip judiciously before glancing over her shoulder. "Can you do two into one?"

The woman nodded. "That is doable." Her hands expertly parted her hair, tying one half off to the side and began working on the other half.

"So, the new year is almost here," the girl began. "What have you thought of the last one?"

Jenny's lips twitched. "Well," she drew this word out a bit, teasingly. "It has certainly been interesting with many unexpected things happening."

"Not bad unexpected though, right?" There was the faintest note of insecurity in Kelly's tone that had Jenny leaning forward and pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"No, not bad at all."

Kelly looked back at her with a joyful grin before Jenny gently directed her to face back forward.

"What do you think about the team?"

Jenny's lips twitched at Kelly's seemingly never-ending questions. This girl was definitely her father's daughter. "Decker and I get along well. Though I think he will either be getting his own team soon or at least be assigned elsewhere."

"Hmm," Kelly gave a nod of agreement, which was cut short by Jenny stilling her head. "What about Dad?" She wore a look of false innocence.

She leaned around Kelly's shoulder giving her a look. "I think you know very well how things are going with your dad."

Kelly giggled as Jenny sat back in her seat and got back to work.

"What about Stan?"

"Stan doesn't really like me much."

Kelly attempted to look back at her but was stopped again by Jenny. "Why not?"

"Well, because technically he _is_ more senior than I am but your father treats me more like the senior agent. And Stan thinks that it is because of our relationship."

Jenny could just see Kelly rolling her eyes. "Yeah right." Since that first fight Kelly had witnessed several others between her father and Jenny, though, as Kelly had remarked a few days ago, they mostly argued about work-related things and not so much about their personal life. "Maybe if he grew a pair dad would start taking him seriously."

Jenny's jaw dropped. "Kelly!"

Kelly made an "oops" face, though not a particularly regretful one, before replacing it with a matter-of-fact face. "Well, it's true."

Jenny stared at her a moment longer before shaking her head, turning Kelly's head to face forward again and going back to braiding. "Perhaps, but that's not really a ladylike thing to say."

Kelly got very quiet.

Jenny stilled again, analyzing her sentence in her head before closing her eyes; realizing how her sentence may have sounded…or more likely _whom_ she may have sounded like. "Kelly?" she asked softly.

The teen bit her lip. "Mommy used to say things like that…about being 'ladylike.'"

Jenny swallowed hard, wondering for the hundredth time if she was really up to the challenge of possibly living in the shadow of a woman she did not know.

Kelly turned the chair to look at her more easily. "I hurt you." There was a near horrified tone in her voice.

The redhead swallowed again before shaking her head negatively. "No, Kelly."

"Yes, I did!" the girl disagreed. "I didn't mean to. I actually like it but it also reminds me of Mommy and that makes me sad but it also kinda makes me happy…" There was a troubled look on her face. "It's really kinda confusing."

Jenny ran a hand over the half-finished hairstyle. "It's alright Kelly." She looked down, taking a deep breath. "I can only imagine how this is for you; I don't know that I would have reacted half as well as you have to my relationship with your father if my father had become involved with a woman that I knew about."

Kelly smiled at her. "I like you Jenny." She bit her lip. "I'd really like it if you stayed around for a while."

Jenny grinned. "I'd like that too." She gave her a one-armed hug before turning the chair back around and getting back to work on the braids.

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Kelly had asked Jenny to come with them to her horseback riding lesson and Jethro had quietly encouraged it. So, of course, she had said yes. She had found herself enjoying watching Kelly working on jumping, while Jethro quietly explained some of the basics of riding and what was involved in jumping in particular.

None of this, however, explained how she came to be standing next to one of the large animals in a pair of boots being talked through how to mount the creature.

After her lesson was over Kelly had asked to go on a ride, which Jethro had agreed to and had said he would also like to go. Jenny had smiled and told them to have a good time…and that had somehow landed her in the position she was in now.

Jethro was nearby putting the saddle on his horse, and – she could tell – attempting to hide the mirth on his face.

She narrowed her eyes. Well, now she _had_ to go through with this.

She took a deep breath and – after three tries and a boost from one of the instructors – managed to get into the saddle. They then began showing her the different signals to give the horse to make her go, stop and turn…making her feel rather embarrassed in the process considering how she had just seen her lover's 13 year old daughter jumping her horse over different obstacles with little instruction at all. Eventually she got the hang of it enough that they said she was ready to go on the ride – after assuring her that the horse she was on was the gentlest, best trained and steadiest one they had; that the trail was an easy one and that Jethro and Kelly were both very accomplished riders who would be able to help her. Their assessment of Jethro was immediately backed up by the ease with which he swung up into the saddle, automatically settled himself into it and arranged the reins in his hand. Damn it, it should be against the law for a man to look that sexy.

They headed off at a slow pace; Jethro staying beside her with Kelly on his other side, both keeping pace with Jenny. Kelly got antsy and would occasionally pick the pace up a bit and ride out in front of them, before either coming to a stop and waiting for them or trotting back to them.

"If she could, she would probably take this ride at a gallop or at least a canter," he told her; then had to explain what a canter was.

"She likes to go fast, doesn't she?" Humor rang in her voice.

He nodded.

She lifted an eyebrow. "Like father, like daughter."

He gave her a look, which, as usual, just rolled off of her.

"She says it's like flying."

"Did her mother like to ride?" It slipped out before she had a chance to check herself. "I didn't –"

"Yes, she did," he said simply, ending her semi-apology.

They continued on in silence, save for the interruptions when Kelly rejoined them and started her usual chatter.

All the while, the question that had been plaguing Jenny was echoing in the back of her mind…

Could she really do this?

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And I end it with TENSION!!!!! ;P I'm in a wacky mood. Anywho. We see the "specter of the past" so to speak. Jenny finally asks a question about Shannon and Gibbs actually answers it…without detail of course. Whether or not they will all be able to deal with that past is yet to be seen… I hope that you enjoyed the chapter!


	7. Chapter 7: Growthspurts

Ack! I am so sorry that it has taken so long to write and post this chapter. It has been in my mind for a long time but working out all of the logistics of it was not easy for some reason. Anywho, I hope that you all enjoy it!

~*~

Chapter 7: Growth-spurts

Kelly was sitting on the floor at the coffee table in the living room doing her homework – actually it was more like _attempting_ to do her homework for she kept glancing up at the clock and in the direction of the front door every couple of minutes. Ducky was reading in one of the armchairs. Her father and Jenny had been away on a mission for a few weeks, during which Ducky had been looking after her. However they were due back any minute and Kelly could hardly hold still from her excitement.

Her head snapped up at the sound of the front door being opened and she was off running toward the entrance like a shot. "Daddy! Jenny!" she squealed as she ran up to them. She threw her arms around her father but immediately leapt back when he let out a hiss of pain. "Oh, my gosh, Dad are you ok?" She did not wait for, nor paid any attention to, his answer of: "I'm fine." Instead she turned immediately to Jenny and asked, "Is he ok?"

"I said I was fine!" her dad protested.

Jenny smirked at Kelly's complete disregard for her father's answer. "He was shot," the teen gasped. "He _is_ going to be fine, but he is _still_ recovering." She gave her lover and boss a glare.

Kelly was frowning seriously; she took her father's hand and led him into the sitting room. "Come on, Dad, you should sit down on the couch."

Jenny smothered a laugh behind her hand at Jethro rolling his eyes.

"I'm fine, Kel. You don't have to treat me like an invalid," he groused.

"Oh, I'm not," she said off-handedly as she gently pushed him to sit on the couch; then stood in front of him with her hands on her hips. "If I was treating you like an invalid I wouldn't have let you walk; I would have made you sit in a wheelchair." She turned and went to the kitchen, calling over her shoulder, "Ducky ordered pizza; it should be here soon!"

Jethro glared at his chuckling friend and grinning lover.

Ducky cleared his throat and managed to say, "I wonder where she gets it from?"

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Jenny was glad to be home. The assignment in Positano had been far too long for her tastes and it had nearly ended very badly for them. She shuddered inwardly at the memory of Jethro being shot.

Kelly glanced up as the redhead entered the kitchen and grinned at her. "So how much trouble has my dad been giving you?"

The older woman returned her smile. "Enough. You know how he is." They shared knowing looks.

That was when Jenny noticed that the girl's right sleeve was empty starting just below her elbow and she was only using her left hand for doing things.

Kelly noticed the woman's debating/thoughtful stare, following it to where it landed on her right arm.

"I'm trying to decide," the redhead began, "how best to put this…"

"You wanna know where my arm is?" the girl put with blunt humor.

Jenny rolled her eyes, nodding. "I suppose that's a way to put it."

The teen grinned, mischief glinting in her eyes. "Well, it _is_ my arm."

"So," the woman's look became pointed, "where is it?"

Kelly became rather focused on the salad she was making. "I just haven't really wanted to wear it much lately." At Jenny's continued intense stare, the girl shrugged. "It's just become kinda uncomfortable."

The redhead frowned. Kelly had never complained about her prosthetic before and she had never seen the teen go without it before. She took a mental step back and looked closely at her lover's daughter; remembering the first time she saw her. Kelly had been quite short for her age though puberty had obviously already hit her and certain parts of her body had grown beyond the rest of her. As she looked at the teen she realized that Kelly had grown several inches over the last few months, very quickly; and now was probably average, if not above average for her age.

"Kelly," she began thoughtfully, "can you outgrow your prosthetic?"

The teen's eyes lifted, almost guiltily to look at her father's lover; she reluctantly nodded.

"Kelly! What didn't you say anything?"

The girl fiddled with the tomato in her hand. "I didn't want to bother Dad, he's got so much going on, and prosthetics are expensive."

"Sweetheart, nothing and no one is more important to your father than you, and he would never want you to be uncomfortable like that!" Jenny placed her hands on the Kelly's shoulders. "You're in the middle of a growth-spurt; this happens at your age."

The doorbell rang, announcing the arrival of their pizza. "I'm going to go get our dinner, and while we are eating you are going to tell your dad about your arm," the redhead told her firmly.

"Yes ma'am," the teenager nodded.

"Good." She pulled her into a hug before heading to the door.

~*~

Kelly told her father over dinner about outgrowing her prosthetic; when he asked her why it took so long for her to tell him she explained her reasoning. Jethro noticed how his daughter briefly glanced at Jenny, who nodded encouragingly, before giving her explanation.

Eventually Ducky left for the night and Kelly went up to bed, she had riding the next morning and needed to be well rested.

Jethro made his way into the kitchen where Jenny was cleaning up what little mess there was from dinner.

"Jethro!" she cried out, when she saw him enter. "You're supposed to be resting!" She all but pushed him into a chair; then went back to the dishes.

He just kept looking at her. "Kelly doesn't really like to admit when something's wrong."

"Gee, I wonder who that sounds like," she commented sarcastically over her shoulder.

He ignored the comment. "How did you get her to tell me about her prosthetic?"

She stilled for a moment; then placed the last dish in the rack and turned to look at him. "I reminded her that you would be more upset if she kept it from you than if she told you. That you loved her too much to ever want to see her unnecessarily uncomfortable."

She moved toward the door; he caught her wrist as she passed him. He locked eyes with her. "Thank you," putting every ounce of sincerity he felt into those two words.

She smiled and leaned down, kissing him. "I care about her too much as well," she said once they pulled apart; then she headed into the living room to make sure there was not anything left out from their dinner.

Jethro watched as she moved around the room, marveling over the remarkable woman who had entered their lives, and thoughts of her staying began to truly take root.

~*~

Sorry about it not being that long, but it just did not want to be any longer. The next chapter unfortunately is also being uncooperative. I think it might involve Kelly's birthday – did they specify on the show when that was? Work has gotten even busier; I will try to get the next chapter up as soon as I can. Thank you so much for all of the encouragement you guys have given me!


	8. Chapter 8: Birthday

There was a review that said that Kelly seemed more like she was ten than 13 and that most girls are wearing makeup at 13. Maybe it is a generational difference but I was born around the same time that Kelly would have been – had she been a real person – and I can tell you that at 13 my mother would not have let me out of the house with make up beyond – _maybe _– a little lip gloss. Also, keep in mind Kelly's been raised by her FATHER who probably would be content to have her remain in pigtails and pink frilly dresses (I speak from experience with my own father whom I think would have been quite content if my sister and I had never grown up) and besides he probably would not think about something like getting her daughter make up. I can agree that at certain points she may act a little younger than her age but keep in mind that I am now nearly twice that age and I am rarely around kids that age so if I make mistakes please bare with me; I am trying to make her not too mature but also not too young; I may have slung it too far to one side, I am going to try to do better.

Thank you, thank you, thank you so much for all of the reviews! I am so sorry that the updates take so long! Thank you to MatteaAM for telling me when Kelly's b-day was, though I'm still working the year-wise timeline…eh…they make it so complicated on the show! I hope that this chapter is ok!

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**Chapter 8: Birthday**

Jenny supposed that compared to some kids' birthdays Kelly Gibbs's was tame, but as it was it still appeared to be chaos to her, and not even controlled chaos, just plain _chaos_. Most of Kelly's class along with a couple of her friends from riding class had been invited over to the Gibbs house. There was a slip-and-slide, a sprinkler, water balloons, water guns, excessive amounts of sugar, and basically the only rule was that adults and food were not permitted to get wet.

A soft chuckle came from next to her. "Crazy, isn't it?"

Jenny turned to Samantha Tyler, eyes still quite wide. "I have to admit I haven't been around this many kids in a long time."

The older woman nodded. "It can be overwhelming. I heard that the first time you met my daughter was under such circumstances."

Jenny grinned. "Yeah."

Samantha rolled her eyes. "I apologize for my daughter's carelessness."

The redhead waved her hand. "It's fine; no harm was done."

"That's a better attitude than many would have."

The younger woman shrugged. "She's a child; she was being a child as she should be."

The blond nodded thoughtfully. "How long have you and Jethro been dating?"

Jenny swirled her drink. "About a year now."

Samantha nodded, taking in the expression on the other woman's face. "So Kelly and Maddie say that you work for NCIS…"

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"Happy birthday, to you. Happy birthday, to you…"

Kelly and her friends were all wrapped in towels, sitting around the tables having just finished lunch and now it was time for cake. What she liked about her friends was that they had been with her since before she lost her arm and they treated her normally; not like she was an invalid or a porcelain doll that needed to be coddled. Most of the adults here were the same, though some of them who had not been around her that much still seemed to not know how to treat her but at least attempted to follow the others' lead. She did wish Ducky could have come but Mrs. Mallard had broken her foot while playing croquet and he had to take her to the hospital; he promised to bring her present to dinner on Sunday and to try and save him a slice of cake.

"Happy birthday, dear Kelly!" Her dad set the cake down in front of her. "Happy birthday, to you!" There were cries of "Make a wish!"

She squeezed her eyes shut, reaching for the secret hope in her heart; then blew out the candles to the results of applause and cheers. She turned to look at her father. "Can I open presents while we have cake?" She gave him her best pleading look.

He rolled his eyes but nodded and turned to Jenny. "Could you cut the cake while I get the presents?"

Jenny nodded, smiling as she took the knife.

"Thanks." He pressed a kiss to her temple as he turned toward the gift table.

Kelly's heart froze in her chest; for a moment she could not move.

"Kelly!"

The now-14-year-old turned at her best friend's voice. Maddie handed her the first piece of cake; Kelly managed to put a, relatively, genuine looking grin on her face.

The teen did not know how she managed it but for the rest of the party she was able to keep a smile on her face that convinced all but her two best friends that she was having the time of her life.

All the while the look in Jenny's eyes haunted her.

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**Later that night…**

Kelly quietly made her way down the uneven wooden stairs that lead down to the basement. As usual her dad was working on his boat. Many nights she would help him with it; some of her earliest memories were of sitting on his lap with him guiding her hands with the sander over the boat. But not tonight. Tonight she needed to talk to her dad and, quite likely, get him straightened out.

He looked up from his work, seeing the intent look on her face. "What's up Kel?"

"Do you want to keep Jenny?"

His eyebrow's shot up at her blunt, and somewhat strange, question. "She's not a puppy dog, Kel."

"I know that," she said, rather impatiently. "But, no offense Dad, after two divorces and a bunch of girlfriends asking if you love her and/or want to marry her doesn't exactly carry the same weight with you as it does with others."

She could tell that while still surprised he could see her point.

Kelly placed her hands on her hips. "What I mean is: Do you want her to stay with us – long term; maybe even forever?"

Her dad looked down at his boat. "It's not that simple, Kel – "

The teen scowled. "First, that's a copout, Dad, and second: It's been over a _year_; you never dated any of your girlfriends or exes that long."

"Kelly – "

"Have you even told her about Mommy?" Kelly interrupted him.

He closed his mouth and looked down, his silence giving his daughter all the answer she needed.

She frowned. "You haven't told her." She snorted. "No wonder Jenny's thinking about leaving."

His head shot up. "She told you that she's thinking of leaving?" he demanded.

Kelly shook her head. "No, but it's there in her eyes." She pulled on the right sleeve of her robe. "I think she _wants_ to stay and commit but I think she's maybe unsure of where you stand; whether or not you're ready. The fact that you haven't trusted her to really tell her about Mommy I think has her believing you don't really trust her and aren't going to really let her in." She looked down, scuffing her slipper. "That doesn't do much to convince her that your relationship has a chance."

"I hadn't – " her dad began.

She looked up. "I know you didn't, Daddy." She took a deep breath. "But now you need to decide if you want to keep her or not." Kelly bit her lip. "I want to keep her. I want her to stay," her voice was tiny. "I like her and I like how happy she makes us."

They stood in silence for several moments.

She scuffed her slipper again. "I'm…gonna go to…bed, now," she said haltingly; then went over and gave her dad a kiss on the cheek before heading back to the stairs. "Night, Daddy. Love you."

"Night, Kel. Love ya too, sweetie." He stared at his boat.

Kelly climbed the old, familiar stairs.

"Kelly."

She at reach the door; she turned back. "Yeah, Daddy?"

He looked up at her. "Thank you."

She gave him a half-smile; then turned and went through the door.

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I don't know if that was any good; it all kinda came out in one rush. That last part with Kelly and Gibbs is another scene that has been in my mind in some form or another for a long time, but always with Kelly saying she wants them to "keep" Jenny, along with her reasoning behind using that word rather than "marry" or "love". And now I am hoping after being told Kelly was acting too young that I didn't swing too far in the other direction! Ack! I hope it was ok! Sorry if you found having water-themed party was redunant with the water fight at Halloween but my experience growing up with a summer birthday was that that was one of the least expensive and one of the most fun type of parties to have. Thank you so much for reading!


	9. Chapter 9: Boats

I'm sorry about the delay, but this was probably the hardest chapter to write, because it is so anticipated and I have seen most of it in my head for so long. You would think that when you, for the most part, know how a chapter is going to go that it would be easy to write but, at least in this case, it wasn't. I think in great part because, like I said, you all have been anticipating it for so long and I am so afraid of mucking it all up and not just for all of you but for myself as well. Ack! I am _way_ obsessive sometimes! Hopefully this is not a disappointment. Thank you so much to all of you who have stuck with me for so long; who have encouraged me to keep going and have cared so much about the characters in this story. I know I'm sounding like this is the end or something – which it isn't – but I just feel the need to say this… Ok, I am probably sounding like a psycho… Anywho. Ignore me and please just read; I hope you enjoy!

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**Chapter 9: Boats**

Jenny descended the stairs to the basement. She had been helping Kelly with doing the dishes while the 14 year old chattered on and on, excitedly about the book she was reading, _And Then There Were None _by Agatha Christie. Afterward the teen had gone up to bed, after giving her dad a good night hug, and was most likely reading her book at the moment, trying to figure out whodunit.

Jenny stopped halfway down the steps to watch Jethro while he worked. For some reason she never grew tired of this sight. But she had begun to think that this was all she would be doing, watching; from the outside looking in.

"See something you like, Jen?"

She smirked at him. "Haven't decided yet," she teased. She descended the rest of the way; pressing a kiss to his cheek as she passed, making her way to the work table and the bottle of bourbon she knew was there. Indeed the bottle was sitting in its customary spot, but there was something else beside it that grabbed and held her attention captive.

The silver framed, black and white photo managed to capture the joy and love abiding among the three people within. She recognized a younger, happier Jethro in his fatigues and a very young Kelly with a wide grin and both arms around the two adults. The third person, a beautiful woman with a warm, wide smile, she did not know but she could easily guess whom it was.

Jenny cleared her throat uneasily. "Is this Shannon?"

Jethro nodded. "You can't really tell in that picture, but Kel's got her eyes."

The redhead's eyebrows shot up as her head whipped around to look at the man behind her. This was the most detail he had ever told her about his first wife.

"When we met, I had gone home to see my dad on leave after training; I saw her around town, but didn't meet her until I went to the train station to leave. We sat together on the train." Jethro was still working on the boat; Jenny turned toward him entirely and leaned back against the work bench; the photo still in her hands.

"Jethro, if you're not ready…"

"Shannon said that she supposed it was alright to talk to me, something about me not being a lumberjack." Her hands tightened on the photo but she kept listening to him. "We kept in touch; we got married in 1982; Kelly was born in '83." He visibly swallowed. "I shipped out just after Christmas in '90. About a month later Shannon and Kelly witnessed the murder of a Marine; Shannon came forward and pointed out a drug lord. After that she and Kel, were put under NCIS protection. On February 28, 1991 they were in a car, with an agent driving. The agent was shot and killed instantly; the car wrecked." Jenny's heart stopped. "Shannon was killed in the crash; Kelly was hurt bad."

She swallowed hard, before managing to take a deep breath. "That's how she lost her arm, isn't it?" she asked softly.

He nodded. "Her seatbelt failed at one point and she ended up getting thrown loose; her arm was pinned and crushed under the frame of the car. A passing motorist came by soon after the crash and found them; he was a college kid who had borrowed his dad's car to go visit some friends. His dad had a car phone installed and he called 911. When he checked everyone and found Kelly alive he performed first aid." He glanced over his shoulder at Jenny, "He was a lifeguard and he had paid close attention in class apparently because he knew that when he couldn't stop the bleeding with pressure on the brachial artery that he needed to use a tourniquet and he used a marker in his car to write the time on her forehead. It ended up costing her her arm but according to the doctors it also saved Kelly's life."

That explained all the scars Jenny had seen on Kelly. Jenny also could now fully understand why everyone was, for the most part, so nonchalant about Kelly's prosthetic; that it was not just because they had had time to adjust to it but because, what was a losing an arm to losing her mother and almost losing her life?

She watched him silently for several moments.

He set aside the planer he had been using and pressed both hands against the hull, leaning against it. "Kelly said the other day that you were thinking of leaving. That you thought I didn't really trust you; I wasn't ready to let you in and be part of my – _our_ – lives completely."

Jenny took a step forward. "Jethro –"

"I trust you, Jen." He glanced over at her; then looked back down. "Kelly said something when she told me you were thinking of leaving. She said she wanted us to 'keep' you." He looked at her again.

The redhead's eyebrows shot toward her hairline.

Her lover smirked at her expression and again looked away. "I told her you weren't a puppy to bring home, but she told me that after being divorced twice saying I loved you and wanted to marry you," she sucked in a breath, "didn't quite hold the same weight as it might for others." He straightened up and turned to face her. "And I actually kinda agree with her." Jenny's heart was pounding. "I don't want you to leave, Jenny. I want you to stay; preferably permanently... I want to keep you."

Jenny could not take her eyes off of the man across from her. She was gripping the picture so tightly she was surprised it did not break. She finally took a deep breath, set the picture back down on the worktable behind her and then faced him again, pressing her palms together. "My father died a few years ago. He was in the Army," she gave Jethro a wry smile, "I think you two would have liked each other anyway." She took another deep breath. "His death was declared a suicide…but I'm still not entirely convinced. I know he was involved in something that may have gotten him killed but there is no real proof." She pulled her hands apart and looked down at her palms spread before her. "I have been working all these years to get to a position where I can hopefully get that proof. I planned out each and every step along the way." Her hands dropped and she was again looking at him. "You and Kelly were not part of that plan…but I can't regret anything…and –" she swallowed hard, "I don't think I want to let you two go either…"

They stood facing each other in silence for several heartbeats, neither knowing how to go from here.

Jethro reached a hand toward her. "C'mere, Jen."

She hesitantly raised her hand and took his, allowing him to pull him in front of him, facing the boat. He picked up the sander on the bench next to them and wrapped her hand around it. He guided her to rest the sander against the hull and then began to move her hand along the boat, holding the sander. "When you're sanding you go with the grain of the wood."

Jenny allowed herself to let go of everything and get lost in the motion of sanding, the feeling of his arms around her and his sent surrounding her.

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So there it is…Crap I hope I didn't screw that up…Gah! Jeez, that came out shorter than I thought it would be. Anywho when I finally began to type this a few hours ago (it's now 12:37 at night) I realized that I didn't think Jenny had ever worked on the boat with Gibbs before so I went back to check and saw that she hadn't. And that just entered the equation and…yeah. I am way too tired and it is way too late for me to be typing this; I probably shouldn't even be posting this but I need to or I might end up just sitting on it for another month or something… Anyhow. Thank you so much for reading! If you still like it please let me know; if you don't please let me know where I totally screwed up. Damn, I hope I didn't go completely OOC on Jenny and Gibbs! Ok, I'm gonna stop now before I make an even bigger idiot of myself.


	10. Chapter 10: Wedding

(Eye nearly fall out of head and jaw hits the basement.) HOLY MOLY! Over 100 reviews! This is officially the most reviewed story I have ever written! THANK YOU SO MUCH! I am so glad you are all enjoying this! Thank you so much for all of the reviews and encouragement! I am so sorry about the extended absence, but I have been struggling with this chapter for months. It still did not come out quite like I wanted but I hope that it is still ok!

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Chapter 10: Wedding

Kelly's face was set into a semi-permanent grimace. The last couple months had been great, Jenny had stayed and it looked like it was for good; the teen could not have been happier.

Then a few weeks ago her dad had been given an assignment in Russia, not really unusual, but this was going to last the duration of Kelly's school year and a little past. He and Jenny had talked it out; Jenny had made inquiries at work and had been offered another assignment in Russia to last nearly the length that Kelly's dad was going to be there and took it. Now what had Kelly upset was not so much that they were going to be staying in another country for an extended period, she spoke the language and was looking forward to actually using it with someone other than her father, but the fact that she was going to have to attend another school while over there and would be away from her two best friends upset her. When the school was informed that she had a prosthetic arm they had told her father that they could not permit her to play sports. With that she knew that they were probably going to treat her like a china doll and the school year was not looking promising. Bad enough she had to be without Maddie and Tommy but now they were going to treat her like an invalid. Her dad promised that they would only stay there as long as required for the assignment and then return to the States with plenty of time for her to start high school with her friends here; thankfully he had managed to at least locate a riding school that would accept her so she did not have to give up riding.

Kelly picked up a pile of books and a small smile graced her face, they were language books, French, Hebrew and Arabic; Jenny had given them to her, promising to help her learn the languages to occupy her time when she could not be in gym. Kelly had always enjoyed languages but she had really become avid in her study while she was stuck in the hospital after the crash; she had become fluent in Spanish – which she had been studying in school anyway – Russian and ASL – both of which she learned under her father's tutelage. At least this would help pass the time, she mused as she placed the books in her bag.

Kelly looked up at a tap on her doorframe. Jenny was standing there, her hand resting on the frame. "How's it going?"

The teen shrugged and looked back down at her suitcase. "Almost done. I'm really mostly packing my winter clothes anyway, we're not going to see much warm weather while we're there."

The redhead walked over and sat down on the bed. "It's only until June; then we'll come home."

Kelly quirked her mouth in a "Yeah, I know, but I'm still not happy about it" gesture.

Jenny reached up with her left hand and gently brushed back the hair that had fallen slightly into the girl's face. The sparkle on the older woman's hand caught Kelly's eye. "So when are you two planning on make that," she gestured at the ring, "official?"

The redhead looked down at the engagement ring, Jethro had given it to her just days before he was given the assignment. "Well, that was what I came up here to talk to you about actually." The teen looked up curiously. "How would you feel about a trip to the courthouse?"

Kelly's jaw hit the floor. "Seriously?"

Jenny nodded. "Ducky, Tom, Maddie and their families are meeting us there in two hours."

The teen sank down next to her step-mom-to-be, watching her carefully. "Are you guys sure? I mean," she tugged on her sleeve nervously, "you're not just doing this 'cause we're moving…"

Jenny shook her head. "No. We had already made the decision to get married," she held up her hand in reminder. "We didn't really want a big wedding anyway; we talked about it last night and decided that this is what would make us happiest." She covered her soon-to-be-step-daughter's hand with her own. "The people who are most important to us will be there and that is all we want."

A grin slowly spread across Kelly's face; then she was on her feet pulling at Jenny's hand to try to get her up. "Come on! Let's get you and Dad married already!"

The redhead laughed as she stumbled to her feet, allowing the girl to drag her off.

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"Do you, Jethro, take Jenny to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

He and Jenny stood facing each other in front of the judge. Kelly standing next to his bride, and Ducky next to him. Maddie and Tom were sitting in the front seats with their parents and Maddie's older sister.

He had been asked that question three times before in his life. He had answered the same every time, though the last two times had ended in divorce. He was admittedly worried about his marriage to Jenny ending the same, though he would never show it. But as he looked at the two most important women in his life he knew that even if he screwed up on occasion they would work it out somehow.

"I do."

"And, do you, Jenny, take Jethro as your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do," she answered, her voice sure.

"Then by the power vested in me by the state of Maryland, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." The judge was smiling widely.

The couple easily complied amidst the cheers of their family and friends.

When they pulled apart they were immediately inundated with embraces and well wishes.

Jonah Tyler clapped Jethro on the shoulder. "Too bad about the honeymoon," he ribbed.

Jethro smirked. "Who said we were missin' it?"

The older man's eyebrows shot up and he burst out laughing.

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Kelly was tearfully hugging Maddie and Tom good bye.

"Make sure you call or write every week!" Maddie sniffed, trying to hold back her own tears.

"And make sure you're back in time for the new school year," Tom added.

Kelly nodded her head vigorously. "Definitely. I mean we have to be the Terrible Trio, right?"

They nodded their agreement. Then they were in a three-way hug, holding each other so tight that they seemed like they would never let each other go.

Jethro shook hands with Maddie and Tommy's parents and Ducky; Jenny hugged the two women whom she had grown to like greatly and the kind ME.

Once they had pried the teens apart their friends continued to watch and wave as the family got in line to board their plane.

"Remember!" Maddie shouted at Kelly, who was about to enter the ramp. "Be back by the time high school starts or else!"

Kelly gave a half-sob, half-laugh as she waved once more and allowed her father and stepmother lead her down the ramp to the plane.

As they took off Jethro wrapped an arm around his daughter comfortingly. She leaned into it, but continued to star out the window, bidding goodbye to her home.

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I hope that was ok! I had a hard time writing the whole wedding thing. I'm sorry if it was not that good! I'll try to do better on the next one! Thank you so much for reading! Please let me know what you think, good, bad or indifferent. Praise and constructive criticism are forever loved and treasured!


	11. Chapter 11: Normally

Holy schamoly! O.O Another chapter in the same day! I just started typing this and couldn't stop. So this chapter I'm afraid might be a little less popular, the reason being the first word of it, but I hope you'll read anyway.

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**Chapter 11: Normally**

Callen entered the workout room for the NCIS agents in Moscow. He normally came at this time because no one was here. Except this time.

She looked like she was in her early teens, maybe 13 or 14 at most. Her long, curly, brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she was wearing a blue tank top, black leggings and tennis shoes. And she was pissed.

Callen actually winced as she wailed on the punching bag in front of her. "Damn!" She turned at his exclamation. "What did that bag ever do to you?"

She blew a loose lock of hair out of her face. "I figured that it was better to take my wrath out on _it_ rather than the actual causes of my anger," she answered sardonically; then turned back to the bag and kicked it repeatedly.

"Remind me to never piss you off," he commented, setting his workout bag against the wall and heading over to her. "My name's G. Callen."

She backed off the bag for a moment. "What's the 'G' stand for?"

He shrugged. "Nice arm," he nodded at her prosthetic.

She glanced down at it. "Yeah. I've been thinking of getting a tattoo," she deadpanned.

He smirked, moving behind the punching bag to hold it for her.

She considered him for a moment. "Kelly Gibbs."

Callen cocked an eyebrow. "Gibbs as in Leroy Jethro Gibbs?"

"My dad."

He nodded. "I like him. Good man."

"I know." She said it like it was totally obvious; he had to smile at her words.

"So," he braced himself and nodded for her to continue. She slammed her left fist into the bag with surprising strength. "Who the hell made you this angry and how?"

She scowled and put even more force behind her next punch. "This _place_!" Her right elbow slammed into the bag. "These _people_!" she snarled. "Treating me like I'm going to _break_," drove a knee into the padded surface, "if they _breath_," another hard punch, "on me!" Her kick actually drove him back a few paces.

"Crap!"

Kelly blushed. "Sorry," she glanced at him apologetically.

"It's alright, you didn't hurt me." He straightened up. "Just surprised me. You have a lot of strength behind those hits."

She shrugged. "My dad taught me. Jenny is also quite encouraging of it as well."

He nodded. "I forgot that Jenny and Jethro are married."

"Yeah, they only got married just before we left the States." She motioned to switch places with him; he raised an eyebrow, but that was all before moving in position.

"So, why do people think that you will break?"

She looked at him incredulously; then held up her prosthetic.

He shrugged and landed his first punch. "Doesn't seem to stop you."

"It doesn't," the teen confirmed. "But the idiots at the school seem to think that I somehow warrant extra care with my 'condition' and won't let me participate in sports." She rolled her eyes. "What they seem to ignore is the fact that at my old school I played on the basketball team and participated in gym with all the other kids, along with having outside of school horseback riding, martial arts, boxing and going to the range at least once a week."

Callen paused. "You can shoot a gun?"

She nodded her head giving him an "Of course" look, like it was perfectly normal.

He slammed a fist into the bag. "So did you tell them all of this?"

"Yeah."

"And they won't let you play sports."

"Nope," she popped the "P".

"Well that does suck."

"Yup," she popped again, obviously annoyed.

"But you're not going to be here forever."

Kelly pulled a "Yeah, but it still sucks" face. "Dad said that we'll be home come June, August at the latest, so that I'm definitely home in time to start high school with my friends."

"Well, why don't you make some friends at school while you're here?"

She cocked an eyebrow. "And you think I haven't tried?" She pursed her lips. "A lot of them treat me like I'm a freak because of my arm." He halted in his assault of the bag and she pushed away from it. "I miss my friends, classmates, teachers and the parents back home, who don't treat me like I'm made of glass or like I have some sort of disease." She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the floor. "I just want to go home."

Callen placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey."

She looked up still, frowning.

"Forget them."

She pursed her lips.

"Tell you what." He stepped back. "Come here this time of day any time and I'll spar with you."

She looked at him suspiciously. "You promise not to take it easy on me?"

He smirked. "Why the hell would I do that?"

She eyed him distrustfully.

The young agent rolled his eyes and reached out to lift her prosthetic arm. "In here, this," he indicated the prosthetic, "does not exist."

Hope entered her expression. "Really, you'll treat me normally?"

"Cross my heart," he promised.

She gave him a look. "I'm not six ya know." Then she looked down at the floor and quirked her mouth to the side in a slightly unsure gesture. "But thanks."

Callen grinned. "No problem."

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So I know that NCIS: LA is not so popular with many but I thought that this was kinda a fun scene to throw in. And it was just too vivid in my mind not to write it. So I think I might throw one or two more scenes I Russia, but they won't stay long. I have too much planned for them back State-side. ;) I hope you liked it! Please let me know what you think!


	12. Chapter 12: Family

I am so sorry about the lack of updates work has been _extremely _busy, but I am vacation for a good, long while and I hopefully – if my muse decides to cooperate – will be able to write more. This chapter is longer than usual so maybe that might go a smidge of the way to make up for the lack of updates. I hope you like it!

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**Chapter 12: Family**

**November**

Gibbs scowled at the sight in the room before him. His daughter was sparring with G. Callen. He liked the young man; thought that he was a good, promising agent. However he was not particularly pleased with all of the time his daughter was spending with Callen, particularly in a setting where she wore clothing what was tight-fitted and revealing.

"You look like someone ruined one of your shots." He looked over to see his wife's teasing smile as she sidled up alongside him. "What has you so upset?"

He looked back at the gym; she followed his line of sight. "Kel seems to enjoy working with Callen."

His scowl deepened. "Why? He's too old for her to hang out with."

Jenny tried to smother a grin at his perturbed tone.

His expression took on a thoughtful frown. "Does she like him? I mean – "

Jenny managed to hold back a laugh but shook her head. "I know what you mean. And it is possible that she has a crush on him, _but_ she's also too realistic to act on it or make anything of it." She looked back at Kelly and Callen. "She just likes being around someone who treats her normally, aside from us."

Gibbs shrugged in acknowledgment but still did not look overly happy.

She finally did chuckle, twining her arm around his before pulling him away. "Kelly's fine; she's a smart girl, just lonely."

His frown became regretful. "Maybe we should have found a way for her to at least stay back in the States."

Jenny shook her head. "She is enjoying the chance to travel and see new places and work on her Russian. She just doesn't like the school here and the other kids have trouble understanding and accepting her. She's ok with waiting until we go home this summer." She gestured back at the workout room, "And now she has a friend who accepts her as she is and is also willing to help her work out her frustrations over everyone else."

Gibbs finally nodded, though his expression still clearly portrayed how much he did not like it.

Jenny chuckled.

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"Jenny."

"Hmm?" the redhead looked up from her desk to her step daughter, who was working on her homework at the kitchen table. The teen was biting her lip and playing with her pencil. Jenny frowned, put down her pen and turned her chair to face Kelly fully with an open expression. "What is it, Kel?"

"I just - Well, you see –"

Jenny nodded encouragingly.

"Mommy and I used to make and send out Christmas cards." Jenny leaned forward, nodding again for her to keep going. "Um, especially to Grandmom and Grandpop."

Jenny felt her eyebrows shoot up, Jethro rarely spoke of his father and he had not mentioned Kelly having a grandmother. "Your grandparents?"

Kelly bit her lip again. "Mommy's mom and Dad's dad," she elaborated. "I see Grandmom sometimes, though I think it's still hard for her and Daddy to see each other. I – I haven't seen Grandpop in a long time, only talked to him on the phone occasionally; I think he and Dad don't get along – or something." She fiddled with a page in her textbook. "Anyway, I was just wondering – it you don't mind – if you could help me send Christmas cards out."

Jenny smiled widely. "Of course, how many were you thinking?"

Her stepdaughter returned the smile just as brightly. "Not too many really. Grandmom and Grandpop, Ducky, Maddie and Tom's families and maybe Decker."

"That sounds like a good amount to me. And maybe for your grandparents we can included a couple of pictures as well."

Kelly brightened up even more. "Yeah! I don't think Grandpop has gotten a picture of me in a long time."

Jenny grinned, "Sounds like a plan."

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Jenny knew that Jethro knew what she and Kelly were up to, though he did not really say anything about it. He was happy that Kelly was happy, though he did not talk about the cards and whenever his father came up there was a tightening in his expression. Jenny asked about his reaction; he had grimaced and said that they had issues. Jenny got the feeling that the reason he did not elaborate was because she would have pushed to have these "issues" resolved. Though, if there was one thing she had learned about her husband on some things you had to let him work his own way through; if you pushed he would balk and nothing would be accomplished except an argument.

Jenny sighed and got back to writing the letter she was working on. For Kelly's grandparents Jenny had decided, in addition to a photograph of Jethro, Jenny and Kelly to put a couple more of Kelly from school and other activities. They had also decided to add two longer letters to each grandparent, one from Kelly and one from Jenny. In all honesty the one Jenny had written to Jethro's father had been miles easier to write than the one she was now haltingly composing to Shannon's mother.

"Jenny."

She looked up at Kelly. "Yes?"

Kelly had paused in writing in the card for Tom. "Thanksgiving is coming up and I was wondering if maybe we should invite Callen and some other agents who can't go home or don't have families."

The redhead smiled. "I think that's a great idea, Kel. I'll talk to your dad about it."

The teen nodded happily before turning back to the card.

Jenny reached over and ran a hand down Kelly's hair causing the girl to look up. "You have a good, big heart, Kelly."

Kelly blushed. "I just thought it would be nice, and isn't that what Thanksgiving is all about?"

Jenny nodded. "Yes it is."

Kelly looked thoughtfully out the window. "One time at church, the Sunday before Thanksgiving, the priest said that if self-less kindness and goodwill emitted light, that Thanksgiving would be the brightest day of the year." She turned and looked at Jenny. "It's the one day a year when people will do things without thought of getting something in return, the one day when people will invite strangers over to their house for dinner."

The woman smiled. "That is a very lovely and wonderfully true thought."

Kelly grinned back and returned to the card.

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Thanksgiving turned out to be quite an affair with several single agents and a few young couples coming over to the Gibbs's home and having dinner; they all said thank you quite a few times to the family for inviting them all over. Kelly was substantially younger than anyone else there but she still had a great time talking with everyone and listening to stories about assignments, most of them ones that went awry. Not quite as entertaining – in Kelly's opinion – as last year with Mrs. Mallard, but all in all a very successful night.

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**Early December**

Joann Fielding opened her mail box and pulled out the stack of envelopes. Bills and credit card offers mostly, but a large manila envelope caught her eye. The return address stated "Gibbs" and was in Russia, though the hand was not masculine enough to be Jethro's and too neat to be Kelly's which meant that it was the handwriting of "that woman". She frowned. Jethro had called her to tell her that he was getting married, again, but this time…something was different in his tone. Kelly had spoken happily and at great length about the new woman in her father's life, never had her granddaughter sounded so excited about any of the women Jethro had seen romantically. Joann knew that Kelly needed a good maternal influence in her life, particularly at the age she was, but it tore her up inside to see a woman moving into Shannon's position.

She was still frowning when she sat down at the table turning the envelope over in her hands. It had a piece of cardboard inside and stamped across it was "PHOTOGRAPHS, DO NOT FOLD". She could not ignore the swell of longing in her heart to see pictures of her granddaughter, which she assumed were in the envelope. Finally she took a deep breath and opened the flap and shook the contents out into her hand. She was a little surprised to find not only a number of photos but a Christmas card and what looked like two folded letters.

She opened the card first to find the normal holiday greetings with Kelly's signature alongside Jethro and "the woman's" names in the same hand as on the envelope. Under the names in the post script was a note for her to read the two letters. She turned to the photos, four of them. The first three were of Kelly: her school portrait, her grinning on the back of a horse and a candid shot of her looking off to the side with snow flecking her hair. The fourth photo was a family picture, non-professional, taken with Jethro and his new wife sitting on a couch smiling and Kelly sitting in front of them, elbows on the coffee table, chin in hands grinning.

Joann attempted to ignore the pain in her heart and focused on the woman in the photo, trying to study her objectively. She was a redhead like Shannon, but that was where the similarities ended. This woman was quite a bit shorter than Shannon had been and had green eyes, unlike Shannon's hazel. Shannon had been soft and gentle, through and through. This woman you could see a toughness in her face, but in her eyes along with the way she leaned into Jethro and rested her hand on Kelly's shoulder there was an underlying softness and love (as much as she was loath to admit such things.)

She propped the family photo against the vase of flowers on the table and turned to the letters. The first one was from Kelly; it was full of news about her life in Russia, how much she hated how they treated her like a china doll at school and how much fun she was having visiting all the new places and improving her Russian – she nearly spoke it like a native now. She talked about a young agent who sparred with her and did not treat her like she'd break; reading between the lines Joann could see the crush her granddaughter had on him but how it was strongly tempered. She updated her about how high she could jump her horse now, her continued interest in science and newest book she was reading (_Persuasion_,she had considered reading _Anna Karenina_ but had been told she was a little too young still.) She signed off with a promise to visit her as soon as possible once they returned to the States.

Joann reread the letter a couple of times before she forced herself to stop procrastinating and move on to the letter she knew was from "the woman". It was not very long.

_Dear Mrs. Fielding,_

_ This is very difficult for me to write; I can only imagine how hard it is for you to read. I struggle to know what to write but I feel I need to write this letter to you._

_I want you to know that I do not intend to take Shannon's place in any way, I cannot, she has a place in Kelly and Jethro's hearts that I can never have. They love her still and I would never change that, I am just forever grateful that they found a place for me in their hearts as well. I love them both with all my heart. Kelly loves you and Jethro cares for you as well, you are part of their family and I do not want to cause you any more pain than you must already feel; if seeing me as little as possible makes things easier for you than I will respect that and try to stay away from you as much as I am able._

_ I also wanted to say that you must be an amazing woman because of all I have heard about Shannon from Jethro and Kelly, how much they love her, how wonderful she was and how beautifully she raised Kelly._

_ Thank you for reading my letter, even though it cannot have been easy for you._

_Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year,_

_Jenny Shepard-Gibbs_

Joann set down the letter, tears burning in her eyes. She lowered her face to her hands and silently sobbed.

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Jackson Gibbs stared at the manila envelope in his hands, Kelly had called him just before leaving to let him know that they were going to be in Russia until the summer so he knew that it was likely from her, but the handwriting was not hers. The new wife she had mentioned in such happy tones, perhaps?

He sat down at the table in the middle of the store and opened it, particularly encouraged by the word "PICTURES" stamped on the outside, not having had many photos of his granddaughter over the years. Out slid a few pictures, a Christmas card and what looked like two letters. The pictures were mostly of Kelly but often with friends and family. The first was of her sitting at a patio table with a boy and girl (her best friends Maddie and Tom according to the back) all three of them in their bathing suits dripping wet and grinning at the camera over their lunches. Kelly and Maddie dressed up for Halloween, showing off their haul. The three kids passed out on the couches sometime around Christmas last year. She and Tom having a staring contest. Her sitting next to an older man (Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard the M.E. at NCIS), both of their head bent over a table, he doing paper work most likely and she doing homework. The last one was of her atop a horse next to Leroy and a red haired woman (Jenny, Leroy's new wife), both on horses as well. Jackson felt some amusement at Leroy's obvious continued preference for redheads though this woman appeared to be a bit shorter than the others he had dated and married. One thing he noted was how much happier his son looked than Jackson had seen in a long time.

The card held the normal Christmas greetings in the elegant hand that had inscribed the envelope along with both his son's name and the name Jenny while Kelly had signed her own name. The p.s. promised more in the accompanying letters.

The first letter was from Kelly, full of her animated chatter about what she had been up to and her mixed feelings about living in Russia – he chuckled at her sharper handwriting when she wrote about how she was treated at school, obviously illustrating her annoyance. She told him excitedly about her language lessons with Jenny and her latest best score at the range. Her riding lessons continued to go well and Jenny could now canter with them when the family went riding. He could hear her sorrowful voice as she wrote how much she missed him and would call him the first chance she got. She sent him "tons of love" and signed it "Kelly-Bug", his nickname for her.

He had to blink several times to keep from crying. Once he was sure he had the tears under control again he turned his attention to the other letter, he knew that Leroy would not write him so it had to be from Jenny.

_Dear Mr. Gibbs,_

_ Kelly told me that you would probably prefer it if I called you Jackson and not Mr. Gibbs, but at least for the first time I contact you I feel I should be a little more formal. I am sorry that we have not met yet, but from how Jethro acts and what Kelly has said there is some sort of friction between the two of you – though it seems to be mostly on Jethro's side from what I can tell. As you know he can be very stubborn and does not seem eager to discuss whatever the problem is, but as with many things Jethro most likely needs to work this out in his own time._

_ Kelly and I have been talking about possibly coming out to see you when we return to the States, if we can get Jethro's agreement – grudging though it may be. But I feel it is important for her to have her "Grandpop" in her life and maybe that will lead to fixing whatever the problem is between you and Jethro._

_ I want to tell you that I love your son and granddaughter very much, and that I am in this for the long-haul. I look forward to meeting you in person._

_Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year,_

_Jenny Shepard-Gibbs_

Jackson laid the letter down with a smile.

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I hope that was ok, I haven't seen the episode with Shannon's mom yet, only clips and read summaries and quotes from the episode, so I am going off of those when I wrote her; I hope I did her justice. I hope that you all enjoyed it! Thank you for reading and as ever please let me know how I did!


	13. Chapter 13: Nightmares

Thank you so much everyone for all of the reviews! I am sorry about this chapter being so short; it was longer but after I finished the latter part of it I realized that part didn't fit with this one, so I broke them in two. They are now, two rather short chapters, but at least the next one will be coming soon after this one. I am going to try and refine it a bit and try to make it better and possibly longer, depending on how it cooperates. Anyway. This is actually a chapter I have been trying to figure out how to handle for a while, nearly since I began this story. I am pretty happy with how this turned out; I hope you enjoy it!

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**Chapter 13: Nightmares**

Blue and red lights flashed off of the walls and windows in the alley. People were crowded around the police tape craning their necks to see the crime scene, while people in cars were rubber-necking to do the same. Jenny pushed her way to the front of the crowd, desperate to get to the front. She slipped past a police officer and ducked under the tape. She was less than a dozen yards from the white sheet-covered form when one of the officers managed to grasp her around the middle, stopping her.

But not before she saw the draped form.

At that moment the coroner stepped to the side to lift the sheet to cover the head of the victim; giving Jenny a clear view of the victim's face.

Kelly's blue eyes stared at her, wide and empty. A bullet wound right between her eyes, like another young woman, not that much older than her.

Jenny sat bolt upright in bed, gasping. It took her a few moments to orient herself; she looked next to her to see Jethro still asleep. Out the window snow was drifting soundlessly down.

She carefully eased herself out of bed, trying not to disturb her husband; she stepped into her slippers next to the bed and pulled on her bathrobe as the quietly made her way to the door. She made sure to make as little noise as possible as she closed the door behind her.

She walked the ten steps to her stepdaughter's room and eased the door open.

Kelly was sound asleep, curled up slightly on her side, one arm tucked under her head, her chest gently rising and falling.

The tight bands that had formed around her chest loosened substantially; she let out a relieved breath; then shut the door again.

The nightmare was still clinging to Jenny and she knew that if she went to bed at that moment she would not sleep. She headed down the back stairs to the garage, half of which Jethro was using as his woodwork shop space.

She walked over to the bench and opened the drawer, pulled out the bottle of bourbon and poured a healthy measure into an empty mason jar. She then proceeded to take a larger than normal gulp.

"What's keepin' you up, Jen?"

She lowered the glass from her lips, staring at the chair on the sawhorse in front of her.

He was standing inches from; when she began to raise the glass again, he placed a hand on the rim, preventing her from doing so.

Jenny finally looked up at him; then she looked to the side. "Natasha Lenkov."

His fingers closed over the top of the glass convulsively. "Which part's bothering you?"

She finally released the glass, allowing it to remain on the work table, and brought both of her hands up to rub them over her face. "I don't know. Both?"

"Most people aren't meant to kill like that, Jen. It's not a weakness," he told her firmly.

She looked up at him. "You could."

"I'm a sniper, Jen, that's what I was trained to do." When she started to look back down, he caught her chin. "You told me and we kept it from bein' a problem, didn't we?"

"_You_ kept it from becoming a problem, Jethro," she corrected.

_Several months earlier…_

_Jenny still felt slightly foolish for confessing to Jethro that she did not feel she could kill the young woman. It was killing in cold blood, to her. But this was the job; Decker had killed his mark earlier in the day and if all was going to plan Jethro's mark had been dead for half an hour. Now it was her turn._

_She sat in the window looking down on the alley where her mark would be exiting, gun trained on the door._

_The woman came through the door – she was _so _young! – a beautiful blond, not many years older than Kelly._

_She could not do it._

_Her hand shook. Wavered._

_The gun was out of her hands, retrained on the target, dead steady. With the muffled pop red blossomed dead center on the blond's forehead and she fell to the ground. Eyes wide open, empty._

_Jenny turned to look at Jethro, who handed the gun back to her; then rushed them both out of the building and as far as possible from the scene without being seen._

_Once they were far enough away from the shooting he pulled her into a tiny, empty side street and gently pushed her against the wall. He looked her straight in the eye. "We met up on the way back. You took the shot, made it, and left. End of story."_

_Part of her wanted to object the dishonesty, but she knew that it would do nothing for either of them for the truth to come out. She nodded._

Jenny gritted her teeth, "It was my job and I couldn't follow through."

"Jen," he said sharply, causing her to look up. "If that woman had been a direct threat to any of us; you, me, Decker, Kelly, Ducky, then or now, would you pull the trigger?"

"Yes," she responded without hesitation.

"That's what really counts in my book." He shifted back, leaning against the chair he was working on. "Most people aren't made to be snipers, Jen. But I know you, and I know that when it counts, you won't let us down."

She let out a sigh, leaning forward so that her forehead rested against his chest and her hands gripped his sweatshirt at the sides. His arms came up to wrap around her shoulders; he rested his chin atop her head.

After several moments of silence he asked, "What brought this on?"

"Nightmare," she muttered into his shirt.

"What of?"

"Kelly…dead, like _her_." His arms tightened around her convulsively. She took a deep breath. "Part of me actually wonders if you hadn't shot her that this wouldn't have come back to bite us in the ass…"

He ground his teeth. "And ya wonder if that dream mighta come true?"

She nodded against his chest.

He cupped her face, tilting it up to face him. "It's over, Jen. We don't have to worry about that coming back to haunt us."

She took a deep, cleansing breath and nodded. "Yeah."

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I am sorry if Jenny and Gibbs seem out of character, I tried to avoid that; I'm not sure I succeeded. I felt the need to deal with at least that part of Judgment ever since I started this; this was my answer. I thought that perhaps after opening up to each other Jenny might feel comfortable enough to admit to Gibbs her doubts about being able to carry out the hit, and Gibbs being Gibbs would do his job and then help her. Please let me know what you think!


	14. Chapter 14: Dreams

Here is what used to be the second half of the last chapter, but is now just a short, fluff-ridden chapter that I just felt compelled to write after how angst-ridden the last chapter was.

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**Chapter 14: Dreams**

**Christmas Day Night**

Jenny felt that they could say Christmas had been a success. She, Jethro and Kelly had spent the morning with just them, exchanging gifts; Kelly had yet to let the copy of _The Complete Works of William Shakespeare_ Jenny and Jethro had given her out of her hands. They had then invited many of the agents who had come to Thanksgiving for Christmas dinner. The affair had been joyous and rather noisy. But that was earlier; the last of their guests had cleared out about twenty minutes ago. Now, Jethro was taking care of the last couple dishes before they settled in for one of Kelly's favorite traditions: watching _The Muppet Christmas Carole_. Jenny was sitting on the couch, her feet curled up under her; her arm was wrapped around Kelly who had snuggled up to her. Soft strains of Christmas music continued to drift out of the speakers of the stereo. Jenny could not help but smile. This was something she had always secretly dreamed of, a quiet cozy Christmas evening, lounging with her family.

"Jenny?"

"Mmm?" she responded to Kelly's query.

"I wanted to ask you something."

Jenny could hear the nerves in her voice; she began to soothingly stroke Kelly's hair. "What is it, Kel?" she gently prompted.

"I-I talked to Dad earlier, and he said I could ask you…" Kelly bit her lip. "I was wondering…Can I – can I call you 'Mom'?"

Jenny went still, her heart racing.

Kelly looked up at her nervously. "Jenny?"

Jenny swallowed back the tears that wanted to leak out and smiled. "I would like nothing better if you want to call me 'Mom', Kelly."

Kelly grinned broadly and nearly tackled Jenny with a hug. "Merry Christmas…Mom," she whispered happily.

Jenny squeezed her eyes shut to block the tears. "Merry Christmas, Kelly." She opened her eyes to see, over Kelly's shoulder, Jethro standing in the doorway to the kitchen, with that half-smile of his. He nodded to her, and she smiled in return.

Jethro cleared his throat; Kelly released Jenny to look back at her dad. "Movie time?" she asked hopefully.

He rolled his eyes and grumbled, something rather unflattering about "singing and dancing puppets", making his way over the couch, "Guess we'd better get this over with."

Kelly squealed and rushed over to pop the movie in.

He sank down next to Jenny who raised a knowing eyebrow at him, which he returned with his own look.

Kelly came running back to the couch and plopped back down in her seat; they all settled in to watch the movie.

Yes, Jenny decided, this was definitely the best Christmas yet.

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Just a fluffy, short bit. Probably sweet enough to cause cavities. And I defy anyone who says a 14 year old would not want to watch _The Muppet Christmas Carole_; it is one of mine and my siblings' favorite Christmas movies and we have watched it every year since it came out (the VHS eventually wore out and we had to get the DVD) besides, it was too much fun thinking of Gibbs sitting through such a movie annually for Kelly. ;D I hope you still liked it even though it was so short. We might be heading back State-side in the next chapter, but we'll just have to see what the characters decide to do…


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